Hamilton leads in Baku: Ferrari dominates, McLaren suffers accidents

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crash in Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice

In a practice session marked by tension, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, both McLaren drivers, suffered setbacks by hitting the barriers on the Baku street circuit during the second practice of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton led an outstanding performance for Ferrari, which secured the top two positions. Norris, the first to suffer the consequences of the challenging circuit, hit his left rear tire against the wall at the exit of turn four. Despite the incident, the British driver managed to return to the pits, where the McLaren team assessed the damage. Just six minutes later, Piastri also crashed his McLaren into the wall exiting the last corner, forcing him to slowly return to the pit lane. Unlike Norris, the Australian was able to get back on track to complete a few laps at the end of the session, finishing in 12th position, just behind his teammate. The situation was not ideal for McLaren, who watched as Ferrari demonstrated its speed on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Lewis Hamilton initially positioned himself at the top, but was surpassed by his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, who has dominated the last four pole positions in Baku. Hamilton, after hitting the wall at turn five and suffering a lock-up at turn seven, managed to find rhythm and overtook Leclerc by 0.074 seconds. Ferrari showed a significant advantage over the Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who placed third and fourth, respectively. Haas’ Oliver Bearman took fifth place, followed by Max Verstappen in sixth. McLaren could secure the constructors’ championship this weekend, with seven races still to go, a record. The controversial decision by the team to order Piastri to concede second place to Norris in Monza, after a slow pit stop for the British driver, has been a topic of conversation in Baku. The team principal, Andrea Stella, backed the public opinions of his drivers, assuring that the team was satisfied with their decision and would repeat it, even if the constructors’ title were secured.

The approach to the drivers’ title will not change. This does not depend on the constructors’.

Andrea Stella

Stella added: “The way we run depends on the principles of racing, on the values we embody as McLaren, and it is also a reflection of the fact that we want to protect the unity of the team, which is a fundamental condition for the future.” “After each race weekend, we review how we operate, the decisions we make, the driving, etc. We did the same after Monza and can confirm that the way we operate is what we intended, it’s what we can confirm for the future.”