Russell fastest again in Baku, Verstappen third

Russell finished 0.552 seconds ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the second session, RacingNews365 reports. Max Verstappen finished third, 0.827 seconds behind the fastest Mercedes. That put Mercedes in the top two positions in Baku.

Russell had also set the fastest time in the first free practice session. Verstappen was his closest challenger then, 0.400 seconds behind. The gap between the two therefore grew in the second session, with Antonelli slotting in between them.

The practice results do not yet provide a conclusive picture of relative race performance. Data on fuel loads and practice programmes are missing, so the gaps between the drivers cannot be fully interpreted.