Max Verstappen topped the times in a messy second free practice in Azerbaijan, before hitting the wall in the closing seconds.
Verstappen had enjoyed a relatively clean practice, but in the final minute before the chequered flag he locked up and the car spun into the barriers, ending the session.
Lock-ups and missed breaking points led to multiple drivers running up escape roads at various points on the circuit. Nobody seemed immune to the problem, with everybody from Lewis Hamilton to Marcus Ericsson heading into the run-off zones.
Whilst the yellow flags were often on the circuit, few drivers had serious problems, either reversing or spinning back onto the track.
Daniil Kvyat was the first to cause serious problems when he hit the wall. There didn’t appear to be much damage to the car, but the tyre ripped off some of the Pirelli advertising from the wall and left debris on the track. A virtual safety car was brought out to clear the damage.
Jolyon Palmer also hit a wall, the car stopping on track and bringing out the red flags.
The brakes were once again a problem for Haas’ Romain Grosjean. He complained early in the session that the car was “undrivable” and ran wide on multiple occasions. He returned to the pits where the team changed the brake material. Grosjean ended the session slowest.
McLaren also had a mechanical problem. Fernando Alonso, who had been running a new specification engine, was running slow on track late in the session. He brought his McLaren-Honda to a stop on track.
Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastien Vettel were fourth and fifth fastest, ahead of Williams Lance Stroll.
Sergio Perez, who was out within the first 10 minutes despite a heavy crash in FP1, was seventh fastest. Daniil Kvyat took eighth fastest, followed by Esteban Ocon.
Lewis Hamilton could only manage 10th fastest.
