Baku:George Russell led the field during the second practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, outpacing Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Russell achieved a time of 1m 43.347s using Pirelli's soft compound tyres, finishing half a second ahead of Antonelli and three-tenths ahead of Verstappen.

The session began at 1600 local time under a setting sun at the Baku City Circuit, with temperatures still at 30 degrees Celsius. Drivers initially used medium or hard tyres, with Verstappen setting an early benchmark of 1m 45.115s. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with his car's performance, citing issues with the rear axle.

Verstappen later improved his time to 1m 44.492s on medium tyres, narrowly ahead of Russell's time with the same compound. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will culminate with the main race on September 26.