Max seventh in FP2: "Tomorrow will be better"
Published on 17 June 2016 by Stefan Meens
After completing only seven laps in FP1, Max Verstappen gained valuable track time in the second free practice session of Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing ace lapped the slippery Baku City Circuit 35 times. His fastest lap (1:46.068) granted Max P7 at the end of the session. At the front, Lewis Hamilton affirmed his form by setting the benchmark, outpacing his team mate Nico Rosberg by nearly seven tenths. Force India’s Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas (Williams) and Nico Hulkenberg (also Force India) completed a somewhat surprising top five.
“I really enjoy the Baku circuit. The track is still slippery and the high speeds on the straights make braking for the corners challenging”, reveals Max to Verstappen.nl. “Because I only completed three full laps in FP1, which was really all about getting to know the track, it meant I had to find my comfort zone in FP2 before I could really push and work on the car’s set-up. Luckily I was able to a lot of laps in the afternoon. All in all it wasn’t a great start but it should be better tomorrow.”
Max continues: “Because of the long straights and 90 degree turns, you really have to find a compromise with the set-up. But we knew we would lose a lot of time on the straights. The lap times aren’t yet great, but tonight we’ll try to improve the set-up. Saturday should be better.”
In the beautiful backdrop that is the city of Baku, Max is keen to make up for lost track time during FP2. Right from the start, the Dutch man heads out onto the circuit that twists its way through the Azerbaijani city.
It proves to be a fairly eventful session. Sebastian Vettel misses the third corner, but can resume the session after a stylish spin. Felipe Massa only just holds on to his sideways sliding Williams, driving through a dusty part of the track. Thirty minutes into the session, Fernando Alonso parks his McLaren at the side of the track, whilst Carlos Sainz, Pascal Wehrlein and Hulkenberg all needing to use the escape road.
Rosberg and Raikkonen are both plagued by technical issues. The former has to park his Mercedes after just forty minutes, whereas the Finn’s day comes to an early halt at turn 5 with five minutes on the clock.
In the meantime, Max completes his Friday running. After a run on the soft Pirelli compound, bringing him up to P9, the youngster pits for super-softs. On this set he improves his lap time (1:46.068), ultimately leading to P7 at the end of FP2. His third and final run, back on softs, is used to tweak the race set-up. He completes another sixteen laps, bringing his tally to 35 laps.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit - Friday 17 June
RESULTS FREE PRACTICE 2 01 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.223 33 02 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:44.913 +0.690s 26 03 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:45.336 +1.113s 37 04 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams Mercedes 1:45.764 +1.541s 35 05 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India Mercedes 1:45.920 +1.697s 37 06 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:46.027 +1.804s 35 07 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:46.068 +1.845s 35 08 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:46.219 +1.996s 36 09 22 Jenson Button McLaren Honda 1:46.234 +2.011s 32 10 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:46.293 +2.070s 32 11 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:46.498 +2.275s 27 12 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:46.681 +2.458s 29 13 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:46.694 +2.471s 32 14 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso Ferrari 1:46.744 +2.521s 35 15 21 Esteban Gutierrez Haas Ferrari 1:46.830 +2.607s 26 16 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:47.060 +2.837s 28 17 20 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:47.329 +3.106s 38 18 88 Rio Haryanto MRT Mercedes 1:47.487 +3.264s 33 19 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:47.772 +3.549s 22 20 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:47.794 +3.571s 35 21 94 Pascal Wehrlein MRT Mercedes 1:48.018 +3.795s 36 22 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber Ferrari 1:48.081 +3.858s 38
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