Max Verstappen was fastest in the second free practice for the Azerbaijan Grand prix. The Dutch driver crashed his car at the very end of the session.
“The whole day has been really positive, except the last lap. Everything has been working well”, he commented.
“From lap one I felt comfortable in the car, it was handling really well and I was confident with the setup. I think the preparation we did at the factory and in the simulator has allowed us to come here with a strong setup and competitive car from the go. This has definitely been the most positive Friday of the year so far.”
“In the second session, I felt I couldn’t get the maximum out of the short run pace due to yellow flags and traffic so we can be very happy to still finish P1. It feels like the cars are quicker through the corners this year, this means if you have a lock up in can be more critical. We are confident heading into Qualifying but also wary that Mercedes will turn their engines up a bit. We are on top at the end of Friday which means they have to catch up so it will be exciting in the session tomorrow. At the end I locked up at turn 1, I could see I wasn’t going to make the corner so decided to take the run off, as I turned right I lost the rear and ended up sliding into the wall.”
…and yeh, that’ll buff out! ? #luckywehaveplentyofredbull pic.twitter.com/VwG1g95I2w
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) June 23, 2017
Max Verstappen: “We are confident heading into Qualifying but also wary that Mercedes will turn their engines up a bit”
Valtteri Bottas was second in the standings, followed by Daniel Ricciardo.
“Even though I was second fastest this morning I wasn’t fully content with my session and I knew there was still room to improve in myself and the car. I believe we made those improvements this afternoon and I’m generally a lot happier with where we ended the day”, Ricciardo said.
“This afternoon was a lot more entertaining, the grip was coming and you could really start to push the car. There’s not much room for error and it’s a pretty high-risk circuit in terms of mistakes but that makes it really challenging and rewarding. When you are able to put in a good lap you cross the finish line and smile. Like always we should not celebrate on a Friday but we are in the ballpark, so hopefully tomorrow we can stay at the front.”
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP2): VER stays top, BOT not far behind #AzerbaijanGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/rymOAoWA6A
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 23, 2017
