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 stop on the track after a hydraulic failure halted his run. Russell, who currently trails Antonelli by 81 points in the Drivers' Championship, must begin closing the gap to his teammate quickly if he hopes to keep his title hopes alive. His strong showing in Baku could be an early indicator that the gap may start to narrow. The Mercedes driver benefitted from a substantial slipstream behind Fernando Alonso on his fastest lap, allowing him to edge out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and both Ferrari cars by roughly four-tenths of a second.
Even before that decisive lap, Russell had demonstrated impressive pace throughout the session, consistently running among the leaders and showing that the Mercedes package still possesses the raw speed needed to challenge for podiums on a street circuit as demanding as Baku. Antonelli’s day was marred by a hydraulic issue that cost him about 35 minutes of valuable track time. The problem forced him to pull into the pit lane and effectively ended his participation in the first practice, leaving him at a disadvantage ahead of the second practice session scheduled for Thursday at 13:00 GMT, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1.
The Italian driver has won the previous two races, but Baku is notorious for its high‑speed straights, tight corners, and the occasional unexpected incident. Consequently, Antonelli is aware that his sizable 81‑point lead over Russell – and the even larger margins he holds over Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, each sitting more than 100 points ahead – could be eroded quickly if reliability problems persist. "Regarding Kimi’s performance, FP1 is often the least representative session, so that works in his favour," noted Sky Sports F1 analyst Jamie Chadwick.
"The bigger story is why the issue occurred. We’ve heard reliability concerns about Mercedes earlier in the weekend, but the team seemed to have sorted most of those problems in recent races.
This will be the main point of focus moving forward." Hamilton and Charles Leclerc posted their quickest laps on the medium‑compound tyres, indicating they will be keen to fight for pole position in Friday’s qualifying and aim for a race win on Saturday afternoon. Red Bull, meanwhile, introduced a suite of new aerodynamic components for the Baku event, including an updated floor, revised side‑pods and new mirrors. Verstappen appeared very quick on the hard tyres early in the session, suggesting the team’s upgrades are already paying dividends.
If you strip away the advantage Russell gained from Alonso’s slipstream on his best lap, the front‑running order still appears to be a tight battle between Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified sixth and fourteenth respectively, both more than a second off Russell’s pace despite having introduced their own aerodynamic upgrades. These changes are expected to be more effective on high‑speed, non‑street circuits, giving McLaren ample time to refine the package over the remaining practice sessions. At one stage Piastri suspected he had incurred damage to his car, but the team’s engineers found no visible issues.
Norris, on the other hand, has yet to display his full speed potential, leaving fans eager to see whether he can extract more performance from the upgraded chassis. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who has secured a contract to stay with the team through 2027, returned to action for the first time since July after missing three race weekends due to a wrist injury. Unfortunately, he also lost around 30 minutes of running because of an engine problem, limiting his ability to contribute to the team’s data collection.
Liam Lawson, now back with the Racing Bulls, launched from the start line into seventh place, with teammate Arvid Lindblad close behind in eighth. Esteban Ocon, whose future with Haas looks uncertain as the team is expected to release him next season, managed ninth, while Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top ten. Williams’ Carlos Sainz experienced a minor brake fire early in the session, but the incident cost him little track time.
The team has introduced a significant upgrade package for the weekend, which could prove pivotal in improving their competitiveness. The weekend schedule is packed with action: Thursday, 24 September, begins with an F2 qualifying session at 10:55, followed by a Team Bosses’ press conference at 12:00, then the second Azerbaijan GP practice at 13:00, and the F1 Show at 14:15.
Friday, 25 September, features the F2 sprint at 5:10, the third practice session at 9:30, the F2 Feature Race 1 at 11:10, a build‑up to qualifying at 12:30, and the Azerbaijan GP qualifying at 13:00, with Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 15:00. Saturday, 26 September, includes the second F2 Feature Race at 7:55, a Grand Prix build‑up at 10:30, the main race at 12:00, a post‑race reaction at 14:00, and Ted’s Notebook at 15:00. All events will also be streamed live on Sky Sports Main Event.
The 2026 Formula 1 season continues to unfold live on Sky Sports F1 this week, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicking off a triple‑header of races. The Baku race is slated for Saturday at midday. Viewers can stream Sky Sports via NOW, with no long‑term contract required and the option to cancel at any time.