"The return of the king": Fans react as Lewis Hamilton sets the benchmark in the F1 Azerbaijan GP FP2

F1 fans were delighted after Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton sat atop the timing charts at the end of the FP2 session during the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday. The seven-time F1 world champion has struggled to match his lofty heights in his first year with the Italian team and has largely played second fiddle to his teammate Charles Leclerc.

However, after the summer break, the British driver has been closer to the Monegasque teammate in terms of performance and timings on the track. Heading into this weekend in Baku, there was a lot of curiosity around Performance on the track, given that the circuit is arguably the strongest for his teammate, as evidenced by his four consecutive pole positions over the last four years.

At the end of the FP2 session, it was Lewis Hamilton who set the fastest timed lap from his teammate Charles Leclerc by a mere 0.074s to top the session. It was the first time since the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year that Hamilton had topped a session.

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Lewis Hamilton topping the FP1 session in Baku, with one fan claiming:

"The return of the king,"

Pub Garden Banter

@PubGardenBanter

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton The return of the king

"Let's goo, ham is so back,"

Yash

@yashv011

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton Let's goo, ham is so back

"Where he should be 🙂‍↕️"

Ayesha

@InkyOdyssey44

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton Where he should be 🙂‍↕️

Here are some more reactions:

"Don't give me hopppppeeeee."

konami

@konarmyy

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton Don't give me hopppppeeeee🧎

"It's a good sign, but I'm holding my excitement until after quali."

PDubz_LH44 PhD ⭐️⭐️ 🇯🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇩🇰

@pdubz_762

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton It's a good sign, but I'm holding my excitement until after quali.

'Let’s gooooo hamilton."

mic ⊬

@dualeclerc

@ScuderiaFerrari @LewisHamilton let’s gooooo hamilton

Both Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have been optimistic about their progress since the summer break.

Lewis Hamilton reflects on a positive Friday practice in Baku

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton stated that he was happy with the brake performance of the SF-25, as it had been an issue for him earlier in the season.

Speaking with F1.com after the FP2 session, the Stevenage-born native reflected on his session and said:

“It wasn’t so positive [early on]… I would say [Free Practice 1] was a bit of a mess. 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’m 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’m really happy to see the progress, and it just goes to show the direction we’ve been going as a team. I’m really, really grateful for everyone’s patience and everyone pushing so hard, because we’re really starting to see the progress come through.”

Lewis Hamilton is still searching for his first podium finish in the main race for Ferrari despite getting two Top 3 finishes in the Sprint format in Miami and China.