Russell leads Azerbaijan FP1 as Antonelli is stopped by hydraulic trouble

George Russell put Mercedes on top in the first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ahead of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. His lap, set with 20 minutes remaining in the one-hour session, enabled him to maintain a comfortable advantage, while team-mate Kimi Antonelli exited the track early.

Exceptionally scheduled on Saturday to accommodate a national holiday, the Grand Prix began on Wednesday at the Baku city circuit. Drivers initially took a cautious approach on a slippery and dusty layout used only once a year.

Verstappen had set the early benchmarks on hard tyres before improving despite reporting an imbalance under braking on his RB22. Returning to the Red Bull cockpit after missing three weekends with a wrist fracture, Isack Hadjar encountered similar difficulties, losing valuable time because of an apparent power-unit issue.

After 15 minutes, Antonelli had gone fastest before running into trouble before the halfway stage. His Mercedes W17 came to a halt at Turn 7 while emitting smoke; the Italian reported a hydraulic issue, bringing out a virtual safety car. Marshals quickly cleared the car without the need for a red flag, allowing the other drivers to fit soft tyres for the second half of the session.

After locking his front wheels at Turn 1 and taking the escape road, Verstappen returned to the top with a lap said to be four tenths quicker than what Russell had managed at that stage. The Briton, who had himself narrowly avoided the wall at Turn 3, then raised his pace significantly: his next lap took four tenths off the four-time world champion’s time to establish the benchmark.

Leclerc was 0.004s short of Verstappen and took fourth place from Lewis Hamilton, while Antonelli finished fifth. Late efforts to improve were disrupted when Arvid Lindblad ran wide at Turn 7, followed by an issue for Audi driver Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 4, which brought out a second virtual safety car in the closing minutes.

Oscar Piastri nevertheless improved late on to move into sixth after a difficult session for both him and Lando Norris. Norris remained 14th without a representative soft-tyre lap, with both McLarens needing checks for possible damage. McLaren tested new sidepods, a new floor edge and a revised diffuser, notably to address its low-speed difficulties.

On his return to his usual Racing Bulls cockpit, Liam Lawson took seventh ahead of Lindblad. Esteban Ocon and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top 10. The upgraded Audis kept Williams pair Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon outside the top 10, while Williams also introduced its long-awaited upgrade package. It includes a redesigned floor and a lighter chassis, but brake overheating cost Sainz track time.