Marco Rossi · F1-Korrespondent
George Russell sent a clear message on Thursday evening in Baku, but the real winner of the session was a teammate who, hours earlier, was stranded at the track with broken hydraulics.
George Russell topped the second free practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Thursday in Baku with a best time of 1:43.347, handing Mercedes a dominant one-two on the street circuit. Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli lined up behind him, just 0.552 seconds back, after he had to park his Mercedes earlier in FP1 with a hydraulic failure. Max Verstappen finished third but complained of rear-end instability in his Red Bull, while a red flag following an accident by Arvid Lindblad briefly halted the session.
Antonelli's comeback after the morning breakdown
The morning had started about as badly as it could for the championship leader. On lap nine of FP1, Antonelli lost hydraulics in his Mercedes and had to bring the car to a stop at Turn 7, triggering a virtual safety car period and ending his session prematurely. The team then swapped the power unit, an intervention that under normal circumstances would raise eyebrows about the season's power unit allocation.
By afternoon, those concerns had vanished. Antonelli put himself into second place in FP2, just over half a second behind Russell, proving that the morning failure had left no lasting scars. For a driver leading the championship by 81 points over Russell himself, that was the right answer at the right time. A Mercedes one-two in practice may not be a trophy, but it suggests both sides of the Brackley garage currently have the quickest package on track.
Verstappen struggling with his car
Max Verstappen ended the session third, 0.827 seconds down on Russell, but the raw time told only part of the story. Over the radio, the Dutchman repeatedly complained about a lack of rear-end stability over Baku's bumpy street circuit, an issue that manifested in a spin at Turn 15 toward the end of the session. With its long straights and tight chicanes, Baku punishes a nervous rear particularly harshly, and Red Bull seemed to have no answer for it on Thursday.
For Verstappen and his team, that means work through the night. A gap of eight tenths in third place is rarely dramatic in practice, but the unease in the car, coupled with the spin, suggests Red Bull hasn't yet sorted out its setup for this street circuit. Given Mercedes' dominance this afternoon, the pressure heading into Friday's qualifying session has clearly risen.
Red flag and tensions between Ferrari and Racing Bulls
The session was further disrupted by an accident involving Arvid Lindblad. The Racing Bulls driver clipped the barrier in the tight castle section at Turn 8, his suspension broke, and the car crashed into the wall, triggering the red flag. For the young Brit, still adjusting to the hazards of street circuits in his first full season, it was a tough blow on an afternoon when he finished only 18th anyway.
Additional talking points emerged from the paddock after one particular incident on the main straight, where Lewis Hamilton allegedly impeded an incoming Liam Lawson on a slow lap. According to reports, stewards initiated an investigation into a potential dangerous blocking maneuver. Lawson made his displeasure immediately clear over the radio, calling the move "bloody dangerous." Whether the stewards will sanction Hamilton's behavior should become clear before Friday's qualifying session, when Thursday's practice times become footnotes in history.
