LEWIS HAMILTON praised Ferrari’s progress after leading a one-two finish with teammate Charles Leclerc during Friday practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion, who joined Ferrari in January and has yet to reach the podium, set the fastest time of one minute 41.293 seconds around the Baku street circuit in the second session. Leclerc followed just 0.074 seconds behind, continuing his strong qualifying record at a track where he has taken pole position for the past four seasons without winning the race.
Hamilton described the first practice session as messy after he clipped barriers, suffered a puncture, and damaged his front wing, but praised the team’s improvements for the second session.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri faced difficulties after their one-two finish in the first session, with Norris crashing at turn four and damaging his rear suspension while Piastri brushed the wall and finished twelfth. Mercedes driver George Russell completed the top three despite missing media day due to illness, while Oliver Bearman finished fifth for Haas while managing penalty points that could trigger a race ban.
Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished seventh and sixth in the two sessions while acknowledging Ferrari’s strong pace and the challenge of achieving a perfect qualifying lap. – Reuters
