Leclerc fastest but Red Bull looks strongest after F1 Baku practice day
Sat 14, Sep, 2024
Source: The Race
Charles Leclerc responded to his crash in first practice by ending a second Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice session that he missed a considerable chunk of with the fastest time of all.
But the timing of his run, set with a little more than 10 minutes of the session remaining, and the slender advantage he enjoyed at the top of the times suggests Red Bull is a more convincing proposition and in contention over a single lap in Baku.
And if that seems a surprise considering Red Bull's recent performance issues, so too is the identity of its lead driver so far this weekend - as Sergio Perez outperformed his Formula 1 points-leading team-mate Max Verstappen throughout second practice.
Perez, who has not scored a podium since April's Chinese GP but has taken two of his six grand prix wins in Baku, registered a best effort that was a mere six thousandths slower than Leclerc's pacesetting 1m43.484s.
About as close as it gets!