Ferrari SF-25 starts strong while McLaren struggles: What the FP2 telemetry reveals – F1 Azerbaijan GP analysis. Ferrari dominated FP2 in Baku, while McLaren showed grip issues.

F1 | Ferrari starts strong while McLaren struggles: FP2 telemetry analysis in Baku

The second free practice session in Baku concluded with a dominant performance by Ferrari, while McLaren appeared to be facing significant difficulties. Let’s dive deeper into the FP2 telemetry analysis to understand the underlying factors.

During the second practice session, the Scuderia Ferrari confirmed the positive signs seen in the morning, consistently topping the timing sheets. In stark contrast, McLaren, which led the first session, revealed clear grip problems. The telemetry data helps to highlight these differences in detail.

Top speed comparison: Mercedes excels

Comparing the fastest laps, consistent with trends observed throughout the season, Ferrari shows slightly higher top speed than McLaren, whose car demonstrates increased resistance to forward momentum. On Baku’s long straight, this factor—combined with the pronounced slipstream effect—makes the McLaren more vulnerable to attacks from cars behind.

Mercedes, however, reaches the end of the first and second straights with an advantage of 7 kph and 4 kph respectively. Yet, in the shorter acceleration zones of sector two, George Russell tends to hit lower peak speeds, and by the end of the main straight, the top speed is comparable with other teams. This indicates a different hybrid management strategy over the lap, focusing on maximum output early in the lap while sacrificing mid-sector performance. It should be noted that this is a parameter that engineers optimize progressively throughout the weekend, making it interesting to see if this trend continues tomorrow. The Silver Arrows also maintain their strength in traction, both at the start of straights and in corners.

Corner analysis: McLaren’s struggles revealed

McLaren experienced a challenging session, hindered by a pronounced lack of grip that affected both drivers and caused Lando Norris to hit the barriers. Telemetry data showing speed and delta channels reveal that the MCL39 improved during corner entry and mid-corner, the very areas where it excelled in the morning session. The main issue, however, lies in the traction phase after the corner. Out of corners, the McLaren drivers struggled to find grip, failing to transfer power effectively to the asphalt, resulting in sudden oversteer—ultimately causing Norris’ incident. It’s important to note that his best lap occurred at a different moment in the session, so direct comparisons are limited due to significant track evolution.

In parallel, Lewis Hamilton’s performance stands out, as he stayed ahead of his teammate and appeared fully confident with the car—a crucial factor on a tight street circuit like Baku. Telemetry confirms his aggressive pedal usage to maximize every centimeter between the walls, a fact reinforced by a team radio message in which Hamilton expressed his satisfaction with setup changes to his track engineer Riccardo Adami.

Is McLaren out of contention?

Of course, these are only practice sessions. McLaren will have the entire night to adjust the setup and try to address the deficits, potentially by tweaking the differential or rear stiffness to improve power delivery to the ground. Considering the car’s potential, the Woking team remains a natural favorite. On the other hand, Ferrari has shown strong competitiveness with both drivers, starting the weekend on a much more promising note. Tomorrow will provide an interesting opportunity to observe how the direct comparison evolves when the teams hit the track simultaneously.