Motorsports
Leclerc and Ferrari respond to Baku’s second tests
Although the problem of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari F1-75 losing power resurfaced at the end of the second free testing period of the Azerbaijan GP, Monegasque and Scuderia set the fastest time of the day.
Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap at the Azerbaijan GP in the second free practice of this year’s 8th Formula 1 GP with 1:43.224 and was two and a half tenths faster than Sergio Perez plus Max Ferstappen with two Red Bull RB18.
The time of the champions, as well as the impressive Fernando Alonso who followed in 4th place with Alpine – a second behind Leclerc but ahead of Carlos Sainte with the other Ferrari – was marked by the soft eraser. Center eraser arrays were preceded for almost all.
However, Sainth could have landed higher and closer to Leclerc if a fast lap on his soft rubber hadn’t been spoiled by a block at Turn 16. Accordingly, Perez had a small exit in the first turn, in the second fast lap with the fastest eraser.
However, Leclerc also had a lockup in the brakes at Turn 8 and in the end the Ferrari engine power failure problem resurfaced. With fresh memories of the exit from Spain, the Monegasque was worried – but Scuderia assured him the issue was not serious.
Likewise, the ongoing problem of the rear wing malfunction of Max Ferstappen’s RB18 in Baku has resurfaced. After the problems with the DRS in the first part of the test, the Dutchman lost some of the first minutes of the second part as the RBR engineers worked on his rear wing.
Mercedes, who had no obvious solution to nagging jump problems and returned particularly strong on the straights, were left behind by Fernando Alonso’s Alpine and Pierre Gasli’s Alpha Tauri this time. George Russell was three tenths adrift of the Frenchman in 7th place, while Lewis Hamilton trailed in 12th, a further three tenths further.
Although many drivers eventually flirted with the walls of the Baku circuit and some even managed to hit them, only Alex Albon did and slowly brought Williams back to the pits. The 3rd test period of the Azerbaijan GP begins tomorrow, Saturday (November 6th), at 2:00 p.m. and the ranking list tests for pole position and starting order at 5:00 p.m.
The results of the second tests in Baku:
Source: sport 24
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.