This is the classification of Free Practice 2 of the Azerbaijan GP of F1: Leclerc responds to a reborn Red Bull

F1 is going through a very good time. Amazing. With many cars fighting for pole and winning week after week. And after what was seen on the first day of free practice this Friday in Baku, that massive parity seems to have been confirmed in city ​​of fire and light. Again, excitement and uncertainty seem to be at their highest, with several contenders for pole and victory, to which are added the two cars missing in the final races: both Red Bulls.

Charles Leclerc leads the Free Practice 2 classification of the F1 Azerbaijan GP, ​​beating a great ‘Czech’ Pérez by 6 thousand, the driver who has won the most in this complex urban layout, including Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes were only 65 thousandths behind and Carlos Sainz, the other Ferrari, was 0.466 behind with Piastri 5th at 0.499 and Verstappen 6th at 0.545.

However, the key is reading between the lines of this Azerbaijan F1 GP Free Practice 2 classification. Charles, who crashed into the wall in the morning and started the second session with problems with his car that kept him in the garage for several minutesits classification simulation had to be performed later.

Therefore, He was able to take advantage of the better track conditions to set his time. That could explain his first place or his advantage of four tenths Sainzbut be careful, because Charles has done his time with too much fuel, making it clear that he has more potential in store.

That is a clear example of how difficult it is to read the rhythm of everything at once, with Ferrari and McLaren in the ointment as in Monza. But undoubtedly, one of the biggest certainties of the day was the resurgence of Red Bull.

Red Bull is back

After suffering constant problems with its latest evolutions, with many complications in the balance of the car that they could not solve and repeated from Miami, Red Bull presented a new floor in Baku that is a mixture of the last three evolutions of this element. . And it seems clear that that floor worked like a charm.

Max Verstappen couldn’t explain at Monza how his team “turned a dominant car into an undriveable monster”. But Red Bull seems to have reacted to the factory and after this Friday the doubt is huge: Will Red Bull be able to crush like before or fight back with the same weapons against McLaren? Will it be specific to this race or are they back to stay? The answer can be found in the clue.

So far, this Friday’s sightings have been remarkable. In his turn, Verstappen set the record in the first two sectors but lost almost half a second in the third, straight. Meanwhile, Pérez hit a big blow, gaining time in that third sector and gaining 4 tenths on Carlos at the same time on the track, which could indicate that the ‘Checo’ has a more aggressive engine map and Verstappen saved a lot of power from his engine. No one knows whether Ferrari, McLaren or Mercedes are more cautious than Pérez showed. The uncertainty is enormous. The only thing that seems clear is that the battle for the pole will be exciting.

Norris, no representative time

In those first positions, two cars that should be there are missing. One, that of George Russell, had problems at the beginning and at the end of the session (he was 9th). And the other one, one of the great favorites for everyone, Lando Norris, who finished 17th, an unreal position for him because he could not complete his qualifying simulation lap because Gasly disturbed him in his attempt. Norris should be there this Saturday in an all-out battle against the formidable walls of the Baku Fortress, a World Heritage Site since 2000.

Alonso, 12th and Stroll surprises

Fernando Alonso finished 12th, 1.199 behind the best, just a few thousand behind Tsunoda (11th)which was two tenths behind Bearman with Haas. However, it is not known what the true return potential of all the candidates in the middle zone is. So far, Aston Martin has surprised a Lance Stroll who finished 7th at 0.609, an example of the great potential Alonso could have, will probably have a different engine map this Friday.

The Asturian can opt to participate in Q3 this Saturday due to the enormous top speed shown by his car in the straight sector 3. But the points will continue to be complicated because the speed of the race is not good, worse than his direct rivals.

Azerbaijan GP Free Practice 2 classification of F1 2024:

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:43,484
2. Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) 1:43.490, +0.006
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:43.550, +0.066
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 1:43.950, +0.466
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:43.983, +0.499
6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:44.029, +0.545
7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:44.093, +0.609
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) 1:44.475, +0.991
9. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:44.536, +1.052
10. Oliver Bearman (Haas) 1:44.547, +1.063
11. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) 1:44.645, +1.161
12. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:44.683, +1.199
13. Alexander Albon (Williams) 1:44.737, +1.253
14. Franco Colapinto (Williams) 1:44,749, +1,265
15. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) 1:44.785, +1.301
16. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) 1:45.056, +1.572
17. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:45.156, +1.672
18. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) 1:45.391, +1.907
19. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 1:45.810, +2.326
20. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) 1:45,947, +2,463