Lawson accuses Hamilton of blocking him in Baku practice
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 24, 2026
Russell leads Mercedes 1-2
George Russell put Mercedes on top of second practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, and he did it with authority. His 1:43.347 lap led the session and gave Mercedes a one-two in FP2, with Kimi Antonelli second and 0.552 seconds behind. Antonelli missed the start of the session after Mercedes changed his power unit following a hydraulic failure in FP1, but he still ended up close enough to make the team’s pace clear. Russell set the standard and Antonelli followed it, giving Mercedes the sharpest showing of the hour.
The rest of the front-running order came from the teams expected to fight near the top. Max Verstappen took third for Red Bull, Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth in the other Ferrari. Lando Norris placed sixth after he aborted a late improvement. That left the key names from Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari clustered near the front, with Russell the quickest of the group and Mercedes the only team to place both cars in the top two.
Lawson targets Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari became the center of the main flashpoint in FP2. Liam Lawson accused Hamilton of dangerous driving over team radio after Hamilton impeded him in the session, and the incident went to the stewards for review. The complaint added tension to an otherwise fast-moving practice hour, with track position at a premium as the field built toward qualifying pace.
The late-session scrutiny put Hamilton’s run under a brighter light than the final result alone would suggest. The incident kept attention on the session after it ended, fitting the tone of a practice that kept producing pressure at the front, where every clean lap mattered and any interruption could change the shape of the timing sheet. Hamilton’s pace left him inside the top five, but the blockage claim turned his run into the story people were watching most closely as FP2 wrapped up.
Red flag slows Baku
The session also carried two interruptions that cut into the rhythm of running. Arvid Lindblad brought out the only red flag after he crashed heavily at Turn 8, and Haas driver Ollie Bearman stopped on track late in FP2 after an engine problem. Those incidents, along with Antonelli’s delayed start, made the hour feel far less smooth than the final order might suggest.
Baku’s second practice still produced a clear picture at the front, but the session never settled for long. Mercedes got a strong read from its lead drivers, even as the interruptions limited clean running. The timing sheet still showed Russell with the benchmark lap.
