George Russell claimed the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while championship frontrunner Kimi Antonelli was forced to halt his run after encountering a hydraulic failure on track. Russell, who currently trails Antonelli by 81 points in the Drivers' Championship, must begin closing the gap to his teammate if he hopes to keep the title fight alive, and his strong showing in Baku suggests he is ready to do just that.
The Mercedes driver benefited from a substantial slipstream created by Fernando Alonso on his quickest 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 demonstrated impressive pace throughout the session, consistently posting times that kept him at the forefront of the field.
Antonelli’s day was far less fortunate. A hydraulic issue forced him to stop his car, costing him about 35 minutes of valuable track time. As a result, the Italian will start the second practice session on the back foot, needing to make up lost ground before qualifying.
Despite recent victories in the last two races, Baku’s street circuit is notorious for its difficulty and the unpredictable drama it can generate, which means Antonelli’s comfortable 81‑point lead over Russell – and his more than 100‑point advantage over Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris – could be eroded quickly if reliability problems persist. "Regarding Kimi’s performance, FP1 is generally the least indicative of true pace, so that works in his favour," said Sky Sports F1 analyst Jamie Chadwick. "The bigger worry is the cause of the problem. We’ve heard reliability being a hot topic for Mercedes earlier in the weekend; they’ve seemed to improve over the past few races, but this issue could become a major concern moving forward." Hamilton and Charles Leclerc posted their best lap times on the medium‑compound tyres, indicating they will be eager to fight for pole position in Friday’s qualifying and ultimately aim for victory on Saturday afternoon.
Red Bull arrived in Baku with a suite of new components, including an updated floor, revised side‑pods and fresh mirrors. Verstappen looked particularly quick on the hard tyres early in the session, suggesting the team’s aerodynamic upgrades are already paying dividends. When you remove the advantage Russell gained from Alonso’s slipstream, the picture shows a tight battle at the front of the grid, with Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari all capable of challenging for the top spot. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris qualified sixth and fourteenth respectively, more than a second off Russell’s best time despite having received aerodynamic upgrades aimed at improving high‑speed performance on circuits that are not street‑type.
Their developments are expected to be more beneficial on faster, less technical tracks, leaving them with ample opportunity to refine their package over the remaining practice sessions. At one stage, Piastri believed his car had sustained damage, but the team inspected the vehicle and found no visible issues. Norris, meanwhile, has yet to unleash his full potential, and the weekend will be crucial for him to demonstrate his true speed. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who has secured a contract to remain with the team through 2027, returned to the garage for the first time since July after missing three consecutive race weekends due to a wrist injury.
Unfortunately, he also lost around 30 minutes of running because of an engine problem. This setback paved the way for Liam Lawson to step into the Racing Bulls line‑up, where he launched from the seventh grid position, with teammate Arvid Lindblad joining him in eighth. Esteban Ocon, whose future with Haas looks uncertain as the team is expected to part ways with him after the season, managed to finish ninth in the session, while Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto secured tenth place.
Williams driver Carlos Sainz experienced a minor brake fire early on, but the incident cost him only a small amount of track time, which is notable given the team’s introduction of a significant upgrade package for this weekend. The schedule for the remainder of the race weekend is packed. On Thursday, September 24, the day begins with an F2 qualifying session at 10:55 am, followed by the Team Bosses’ press conference at noon, and the second practice session for the Azerbaijan GP kicking off at 1 pm.
Later, at 2:15 pm, viewers can tune in to The F1 Show. Friday, September 25, features an F2 sprint at 5:10 am, the third practice session for the Grand Prix at 9:15 am (starting officially at 9:30 am), the F2 Feature Race 1 at 11:10 am, and the build‑up to qualifying at 12:30 pm, with the actual qualifying session scheduled for 1 pm. The day concludes with Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 3 pm.
Saturday, September 26, continues the action with the second F2 Feature Race at 7:55 am, followed by the Grand Prix build‑up at 10:30 am. The main event, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, starts at noon, with the chequered flag and post‑race reaction slated for 2 pm, and Ted’s Notebook wrapping up the coverage at 3 pm.
All of these events, including the F2 races, will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event. Fans can watch the entire 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1 this week, as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix kicks off a triple‑header of races with the Baku event taking place on Saturday at midday.
The coverage is available via the NOW streaming service, offering a contract‑free option that can be cancelled at any time, ensuring easy access for viewers who prefer to watch on the Chrome browser for the most compatible video player experience.