Lewis Hamilton topped a Ferrari one-two in the second practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, eclipsing team-mate Charles Leclerc by seven hundredths of a second after receiving a two from the Monegasque driver. It was a tough session for title chasing McLaren, however, with Lando Norris missing much of the session after hitting the wall, and with Oscar Piastri two places behind his team-mate in P12. 

Kick Sauber dup Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were first out on track at the start of the session, on Medium tyres. 

Hülkenberg opened his account with a 1:44.218 to sit two-tenths clear of Bortoleto, but Piastri soon blazed past that marker with a lap of 1:43.307 set on C6 Soft tyres. 

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen then went quickest on 1:43.226 but he was soon ousted from P1, first by Mercedes George Russell and then by Bortoleto who posted a 1:42.561.

Leclerc then moved to the top on 1:42.207s, but his time was swiftly beaten by Norris who turned in a 1:42.199 to move to P1. 

The Ferrari driver wasn’t in the mood to be denied, however, and Leclerc got a good tow on his next flyer to set a new benchmark of 1:41.786. Hamilton then went even quicker on Medium tyres with a 1:41.543 before the field retreated to the pit lane to plan their quali sims. 

And when those got underway it was Norris who grabbed the headlines. The McLaren driver lost the rear of his car at Turn 4, hit the wall with his rear left and then slowly limped back to the pitlane to assess the damage. He would play no further part in the session.

There were more nervous winces at McLaren a moment later when Piastri clouted the Tecpro barrier in Turn 15 and was forced back to the pits. There was no real damage, however, and he was soon back on track. 

Leclerc made no mistakes, however, and the Ferrari driver logged a time of 1:41.367 to go top. Russell then climbed to third behind the Ferraris with Oliver Bearman jumping to a solid looking fourth place ahead of Verstappen. His stay in P4 didn’t last too long, however, and with 15 minutes left Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli deposed the Haas driver. 

Ferrari were shaping for another attempt, however, and with Leclerc providing a strong tow, Hamilton powered to a time of 1:41.293 on Softs to take P1​, and remarked that there were “some good learnings” from the lap. 

With Russell and Antonelli followed by Bearman, sixth place went to Verstappen. The Dutchman finished the session six tenths of the pace and just under a tenth ahead of Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson. Eighth place went to Esteban Ocon with Williams’ Alex Albon just 0.01s behind the Haas driver in P9.

Norris ended the session in 10th place with Carlos Sainz in P11 ahead of Piastri and the Racing Bulls car of Isack Hadjar. 

2025 FIA Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:41.293 21 213.349
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:41.367 0.074 23 213.193
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:41.770 0.477 19 212.349
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:41.779 0.486 22 212.330
5 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:41.891 0.598 23 212.097
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:41.902 0.609 22 212.074
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:41.989 0.696 22 211.893
8 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:42.167 0.874 23 211.524
9 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:42.177 0.884 24 211.503
10 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:42.199 0.906 7 211.458
11 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:42.255 0.962 24 211.342
12 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:42.295 1.002 23 211.259
13 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:42.443 1.150 23 210.954
14 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:42.444 1.151 22 210.952
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:42.561 1.268 22 210.711
16 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:42.674 1.381 22 210.479
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:42.771 1.478 24 210.281
18 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:42.820 1.527 22 210.180
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:42.967 1.674 24 209.880
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:43.322 2.029 22 209.159