George Russell emerged as the quickest driver in the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli was forced to halt his run after a hydraulic failure on the circuit. Russell, who trails Antonelli by 81 points in the drivers' standings, needs to start narrowing the gap to his teammate if he hopes to keep the title fight alive, and his strong showing in Baku suggests he is keen to do just that. The Mercedes driver benefited from a powerful slipstream provided by Fernando Alonso on his fastest lap, allowing him to edge out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and both Ferraris by roughly four-tenths of a second.
Even before that decisive lap, Russell had displayed impressive pace throughout the session, hinting at the potential for a competitive weekend. Antonelli, meanwhile, lost around 35 minutes of valuable track time when a hydraulic issue forced him to pull over. This setback means he will head into the second practice session later on Thursday with a disadvantage, as he will have less data to work with. The Italian, who has claimed victory in the two most recent races, knows that Baku is a notoriously demanding venue that often produces unexpected drama.
Consequently, he is cautious about how quickly his 81‑point cushion over Russell—and his more than 100‑point lead over Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris—could be eroded. "Regarding Kimi’s performance, the first practice session is the least indicative of true pace, so that works in his favour," commented Jamie Chadwick of Sky Sports F1. "The bigger issue is the cause of the problem.
We were aware that reliability had been a hot topic for Mercedes earlier in the day; they seem to have improved considerably over the last few races, but this will now become the primary concern." Hamilton and Charles Leclerc posted their quickest laps on the medium‑compound tyres, indicating that they will be aiming to fight for pole position in Friday’s qualifying and to contend for the race win on Saturday afternoon. Red Bull, on the other hand, introduced a suite of new components for the Baku event, including an updated floor, revised sidepods and fresh mirror designs. Verstappen looked exceptionally quick on the hard tyres early in the session, suggesting that the team’s aerodynamic upgrades are paying off. If you strip away the benefit Russell received from Alonso’s slipstream, the picture that emerges shows Red Bull firmly in the mix at the front alongside Mercedes and Ferrari.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were placed sixth and fourteenth respectively, both more than a second off Russell’s best time despite the team having introduced upgrades to their cars. McLaren’s recent developments are largely aerodynamic in nature, meaning they will be most effective on high‑speed circuits rather than the tight, street‑type layout of Baku. The team still has two practice sessions remaining to fine‑tune these changes.
At one point, Piastri thought he had sustained damage to his car, but engineers inspected the vehicle and found no visible issues. Norris, meanwhile, has yet to reveal his full speed potential. Isack Hadjar, who has been confirmed to remain with Red Bull through the 2027 season, returned to the track for the first time since July after missing the previous three race weekends due to a wrist injury.
Unfortunately, he also suffered an engine failure that cost him roughly 30 minutes of running time. This development paved the way for Liam Lawson to re‑join the Racing Bulls lineup, where he launched from seventh on the grid with teammate Arvid Lindblad in eighth. Esteban Ocon, whose future with Haas looks uncertain as the team is expected to release him before the 2027 season, managed to finish ninth in the session. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten in tenth place.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz experienced a minor brake fire early in the run, but the incident cost him only a small amount of track time, especially given that the team has introduced a substantial upgrade package for the weekend. The schedule for the remainder of the weekend is packed with action.
On Thursday, September 24, the day will feature F2 qualifying at 10:55 am, a team bosses’ press conference at noon, the second practice session for the Azerbaijan GP beginning at 1 pm, and the F1 Show at 2:15 pm. Friday, September 25, includes the F2 sprint at 5:10 am, the third practice session for the Grand Prix at 9:15 am (with the session officially starting at 9:30 am), the F2 feature race at 11:10 am, a build‑up to qualifying at 12:30 pm, and the highly anticipated Azerbaijan GP qualifying at 1 pm, followed by Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 3 pm.
Saturday, September 26, will see the second F2 feature race at 7:55 am, a build‑up to the Grand Prix at 10:30 am, the main race itself at noon, the chequered‑flag reaction at 2 pm, and Ted’s Notebook at 3 pm. All of these events will also be streamed live on Sky Sports Main Event. The 2026 Formula 1 season continues to be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 throughout the week, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicking off a triple‑header of races.
The Baku race is slated for Saturday at midday, and fans can stream the coverage via NOW, which offers a contract‑free subscription that can be cancelled at any time.