Leclerc: The lap times are not representative

Ferrari still have the one-lap pace advantage over Red Bull, but will they have enough for race day on Sunday? In Monaco, the Reds saw a sure win, after Leclerc and teammate Carlos Sainz annexed the front row, go begging, while in Spain their lead car suffered a DNF.

The team reported that both drivers ran the new rear wing from the start of the session, while continuing to evaluate the available tyre compounds

Towards the end, Leclerc and Sainz ran with heavier fuel loads with Soft and Medium tyres respectively, so as to acquire as much data as possible: 24 laps for the Monegasque, 25 for the Spaniard.

In Baku, things are looking up for Leclerc after FP2, he reported: "We had a solid first day. The progression we made from FP1 to FP2 was good and we worked well as a team.

He also downplayed the quarter-second gap he had over his closest rival: "The lap times are not representative because no one put a proper lap together in the second session. There is still quite a bit of room for improvement."

As for race pace which has been their weakness relative to title rivals Red Bull, Leclerc said: "It looked quite strong and I felt good in the car. In terms of tyres, I felt comfortable on the long run and didn't have any graining, which is another positive."

Sainz, who was baulked on his hot lap attempts, ended fifth fastest but a full second down on his teammate; he reported afterwards: "It’s been an interesting Friday, as always here in Baku.

"There were quite a few challenges during FP1 and I was struggling a bit too much with the bottoming and the bouncing, which made the session quite uncomfortable. We worked in the right direction for FP2, improving competitiveness and feeling.

"Overall, it was a smooth second session despite not being able to close an entire flying lap on the Softs due to yellow flags. We look forward to making another step forward and having a clean qualifying," added Sainz.