Mercedes driver George Russell topped the times in FP1 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader, was the fifth fastest in the session, but could not complete a lap on the soft tyres after having to park on the track following a hydraulic leak.
🚨 Antonelli hops out of his car and that’s his session done
Kimi reports a problem with the hydraulics #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/Ux7pG9bs5g
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2026
While Russell trails Antonelli in the standings by 81 points, he was 0.4 seconds faster than Verstappen, per BBC Sport.
🏁 END OF FP1 🏁
George Russell tops the timesheets #F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/sR67a8YQKb
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2026
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton were the third and fourth fastest drivers respectively, lagging behind Russell by 0.4secs each and immediately trailing Verstappen.
However, neither of the Italian cars used the soft tyres during the first session as they had a variety of work for the day in Baku.
Antonelli, who ended up being 0.878 seconds slower than Russell’s fastest lap, was the fastest driver on the hard compound in the initial laps.
The Italian parked his car at the Turn One on the first lap after having to stop owing to smoke leaking from the cooling vents of his engine cover while on the soft tyres.
Antonelli therefore lost almost half the session.
