Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri damage cars as Lewis Hamilton tops practice times

Title rivals Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both hit the wall in second practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton led an impressive Ferrari one-two.

The McLaren pair are slugging it out for the championship, with Piastri leading Norris by 31 points with eight rounds remaining.

Norris was the first to come unstuck on Baku’s demanding street circuit, banging his rear-left tyre into the wall on the exit of turn four.

The British driver managed to limp back to the pits but McLaren were assessing after the session to see if he has suffered further damage after a hefty whack.

Only six minutes later, Piastri slapped his McLaren against the wall on the exit of the final turn and also had to nurse his way back to the pit lane.

The Australian, unlike Norris, was able to return to put in some laps late on. Piastri finished the session 12th, with his team-mate ahead of him in 10th.

It was not ideal timing for McLaren, having watched Ferrari underline their pace on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

Hamilton initially led the way before team-mate Charles Leclerc – who has taken the last four pole positions in Baku – blasted to the top of the charts.

Hamilton ended Friday’s opening running 13th after banging the wall at turn five and he started the second session in sticky fashion by locking up into the run-off area at turn seven.

But the seven-time world champion found his stride as the sun began to set, edging out his team-mate Leclerc by 0.074 seconds.

Ferrari enjoyed a commanding margin of over four tenths to Mercedes pair George Russell and Kimi Antonelli in third and fourth, with Oliver Bearman fifth for Haas ahead of Max Verstappen in sixth.

McLaren can clinch the constructors’ championship this weekend with a record seven races to spare.

The team’s controversial call to order Piastri aside for Norris to claim second at Monza a fortnight ago, following a slow pit-stop for the British driver, has dominated talk in Baku.

Team principal Andrea Stella echoed the public views of his drivers – that the team were happy with their decision and would make the same one again even if the constructors’ title is secure.

Stella said: “The approach to the drivers’ title will not change. This is not dependent on the constructors’.

“The way we go racing is dependent on the racing principles, on the values that we embody as McLaren, and also is a reflection of the fact that we want to protect the unity of the team, which is a foundational condition for the future.

“After every race weekend we review how we operate, the decisions we make, the driving and so on.

“We did the same after Monza and we could confirm that the way we operated is what we intended, is what we can confirm for the future.”