George Russell leads Mercedes one-two in Baku practice ahead of Antonelli

Mercedes pace across Thursday sessions

George Russell set the pace in both practice sessions on the Baku City Circuit, finishing Thursday with the fastest lap of 1:43.347 in the second session. The British driver, who trails teammate Kimi Antonelli by 81 points in the drivers championship, led a Mercedes one-two finish in the afternoon. Antonelli placed second with a lap of 1:43.899, finishing 0.552 seconds behind Russell. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen took third position with a 1:44.174 lap, 0.827 seconds adrift of the top time. Ferrari followed in fourth and fifth, with Charles Leclerc posting 1:44.473 and Lewis Hamilton recording 1:44.665, both finishing more than one second behind the leader. Lando Norris took sixth for McLaren with a 1:44.831 lap, narrowly ahead of Alpine driver Pierre Gasly and teammate Oscar Piastri.

Disruptions and technical failures in opening practice

The opening session took place in hot conditions, with air temperatures reaching 29°C and track temperatures rising above 50°C. Russell led the morning timesheets with a 1:45.387 lap, finishing 0.400 seconds ahead of Verstappen and 0.404 seconds ahead of Leclerc. Hamilton took fourth in the opening hour, 0.437 seconds back. Multiple drivers encountered technical issues on the tight street layout during the session. McLaren driver Oscar Piastri reported severe brake vibrations, while Carlos Sainz suffered a brake fire on his Williams car in the pit lane. Nico Hülkenberg and Lando Norris were also unable to complete the full session due to technical troubles.

Antonelli extinguisher incident and garage recoveries

Championship leader Antonelli suffered an early setback in the first session when a hydraulic failure forced him to stop his Mercedes W17 in the escape road at Turn 7 with approximately 35 minutes remaining. Race control deployed a Virtual Safety Car while marshals attended to the vehicle. As smoke began escaping from the rear of the car, an attending marshal discharged a fire extinguisher toward the engine cover, accidentally coating Antonelli in retardant powder while the Italian stood nearby. Antonelli had completed nine laps and posted a provisional fastest time of 1:46.265 on hard tyres before the breakdown. The stoppage added to Antonelli's previous reliability troubles this season, which included retirements at Barcelona and Silverstone.

Grid adjustments and altered race weekend schedule

Isack Hadjar returned to the second Red Bull seat after missing three Grands Prix with a fractured left wrist, prompting Liam Lawson to return to Racing Bulls. Hadjar's opening session ended after 20 minutes and eight laps because of an engine failure, leaving him 20th in the classifications. In the afternoon session, track limits and mechanical faults continued to affect the field as Arvid Lindblad brushed the track barriers and Haas driver Oliver Bearman stopped early with technical problems. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix follows a modified schedule, beginning on Thursday with the Grand Prix race scheduled for Saturday at 13:00 Italian time. The change accommodates a national holiday on Sunday, 27 September, commemorating fallen soldiers of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.