Draggy Mercedes F1 “parachute” causing one-second Baku deficit

As was the case in the Monaco Grand Prix, Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell suffered from severe bouncing in free practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Russell finished FP2 down in seventh 1.3s from leader Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton followed three tenths behind in 12th.

The team mainly lagged behind on the top speed charts, being anywhere between 11 and 20km/h down on its rivals on Baku’s huge 2.2km straight, which according to Wolff cost the…