Friday Report - Hamilton leads Ferrari one-two as McLaren falter

Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark in second practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari one-two ahead of Charles Leclerc, while McLaren endured a troubled session with both drivers making mistakes. Ferrari looked in control throughout the hour, Leclerc (2nd) briefly heading the times on a soft-tyre run before Hamilton (1st) restored the lead with a 1m41.293s lap, just 0.074s quicker. Behind them, Mercedes delivered strong pace with George Russell (3rd) and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (4th) both within half a second of Hamilton's time. Haas added to the surprises, as Oliver Bearman put his VF-25 into the top five on medium tyres, while Max Verstappen (6th) kept Red Bull in contention. Liam Lawson (7th) continued his good form for RB, while Esteban Ocon (8th) secured a second Haas inside the top ten. Alex Albon (9th) carried Williams forward, before McLaren's difficult afternoon saw Lando Norris (10th) round out the top ten despite damaging his car. McLaren's woes were the defining storyline. Norris clipped the Turn 4 wall on a push lap, damaging his left-rear suspension and ending his running early after just seven laps. His error meant McLaren lacked vital long-run data, leaving the team on the back foot heading into Saturday. Championship leader Oscar Piastri (12th) also found the barriers, tagging the outside wall at Turn 15. Though he escaped damage, the Australian could not extract consistent performance from the MCL39 and ended up outside the top ten. To compound matters, he faces a post-session investigation for allegedly failing to slow under yellow flags. Both incidents underlined McLaren's struggle with braking stability and grip, a sharp contrast to their consist strong form this season. Carlos Sainz (11th) placed just outside the top ten in the second Williams, splitting the McLarens. Behind Piastri, Isack Hadjar (13th) and Yuki Tsunoda (14th) kept RB and Red Bull in midfield contention, while Gabriel Bortoleto (15th) ensured Sauber representation ahead of Pierre Gasly (16th) in the Alpine. Further back, Lance Stroll (17th) and Nico Hülkenberg (18th) struggled to find rhythm for Aston Martin and Sauber, while Fernando Alonso (19th) endured a scrappy run in his Aston Martin. Rookie Franco Colapinto rounded out the field for Alpine, leaving the French squad with work to do overnight. Saturday's programme brings FP3 at 12:30 local time, followed by qualifying at 16:00. Ferrari's strong pace puts them in the early spotlight, while McLaren faces the challenge of working to get things in order for tomorrow.