Mercedes driver George Russell topped Thursday's FP2 session at the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, setting a 1m43.347s lap to lead team-mate Kimi Antonelli by five-tenths. The session, held on the high-speed 6km street circuit in Baku, was disrupted by a red flag after Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad crashed into the Turn 9 wall. Oliver Bearman also suffered a power unit failure, while Fernando Alonso retired early with a suspected oil leak.

Charles Leclerc led Ferrari in third, followed by Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris was over 1.5 seconds behind Russell as McLaren continued optimising its new upgrade package. The race will take place on Saturday to observe a national holiday on Sunday.