Red Bull’s Max Verstappen remained at the top of the time sheets during the second practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, before crashing in the final minute, as drivers struggled for grip.
Verstappen led the way during the initial stages on the Soft tyre, and moved clear when the pack switched to the Supersoft tyres, in a session disrupted by multiple wide moments for the bulk of the field at the Baku City Circuit.
Verstappen’s quickest time of 1:43.362 left the Dutchman 0.100s clear of Mercedes rival Valtteri Bottas, with Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo third, though his session came to an end in the Turn 1 barriers.
Verstappen locked up into the left-hander and attempted to back out and take to the run-off, but lost control and spun into the barriers. The left-hand side of the RB13 sustained damage in the collision.
Ferrari took fourth and fifth, Kimi Räikkönen in front of Sebastian Vettel, while Williams rookie Lance Stroll was an encouraging sixth.
Sergio Pérez recovered from his FP1 crash to place seventh, the leading driver to record their best time on the Soft tyres, while Daniil Kvyat took eighth, having brushed the wall exiting Turn 15.
Kvyat’s moment led to sponsor stickers being torn from the trackside barriers and while the Russian was able to continue his run plan, the Virtual Safety Car was briefly implemented in order for debris to be retrieved.
Esteban Ocon was ninth as Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10, the Mercedes driver clocking his best time on the Soft tyres.
There was yet more woe for McLaren-Honda, as Fernando Alonso stopped on track due to another suspected engine failure, with half an hour remaining in the session.
Alonso, who along with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne has a 15-place grid drop due to new engine components, suffered the failure through Turn 13, with smoke trickling from the rear of the MCL32.
Alonso coasted down the hill through the next sequence of turns before safely halting at Turn 16.
While there were countless wide moments during the 90-minute session Jolyon Palmer was the only driver other than Verstappen to suffer a session-ending incident, when he crashed at the tight Turn 8.
Palmer slid wide on entry and hit the external wall, causing damage to the front-right of his Renault R.S.17, with the session suspended while his car was recovered.
