Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in FP2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and was very happy with his Ferrari F1 car

Lewis Hamilton declared Ferrari are making significant progress as he was left beaming over his performance in second practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Brit ended Friday at the top of the timesheets with team-mate Charles Leclerc second behind him, both nearly half-a-second quicker than George Russell in third place.

They were helped by the fact it was a disaster session for favourites McLaren who saw both their drivers hit the wall. First, Lando Norris caused suspension damage when he collided with a barrier and slowly brought his crabbing car back to the pits, before Oscar Piastri also pushed the boundaries of the Baku street circuit too much.

Hamilton had a brush with the barriers himself, although a light one, in first practice which was much trickier for the seven-time champion, who finished that first hour down in 13th. But the change he made to his set-up in the time between those sessions saw his Ferrari come alive when it hit the track for FP2.

And Hamilton was delighted after a “really” positive day which confirmed to the 40-year-old how much progress his team has made on figuring out how to get the best from the car. ” It wasn’t so positive [to begin with]… I would say [Free Practice 1] was a bit of a mess,” he began.

“This is a circuit where you have to have mega confidence on the brakes and I had some problems with the brakes. Also, every track I am going to is the first time driving the Ferrari at that circuit, so acclimatising to that is not easy. We made some changes going into [FP2] and the brakes finally were working perfectly.

“I was able to really make some big advantages in terms of gaining on the brakes. I am really happy to see the progress and it just goes to show the direction we have been going as a team. I am really, really grateful for everyone’s patience and everyone pushing so hard, because we are really starting to see the progress come through.”

Hamilton said earlier this week that the idea of winning a Grand Prix this year is “far-fetched”, and he continued his cautious outlook on that front when he was asked what the strong pace he showed in FP2 might mean for his chances over the rest of the weekend. He replied: “It is just practice day, I would say let’s not go too far.

“I just want to say that I really am grateful for everyone continuing to push, the support I have been getting back from everyone at the factory, everyone here, their patience, their support, every weekend just lifting me up. The guys in the garage, all of our marketing team – they are really making a big difference. Then the Tifosi, we have been beaming from the energy from the Tifosi in the last race [at Monza]. I am hoping to take that energy that they gave us all the way through the rest of the season.”