BAKU — Mercedes driver George Russell headed Red Bull's Max Verstappen in first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, clocking the fastest time as championship leader Kimi Antonelli was sidelined by a hydraulic leak. Russell, whose last grand prix victory came in Austria in June and who trails Antonelli by 81 points, finished 0.4 seconds clear of Verstappen on the Baku street circuit.
Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth, both just over 0.4 seconds off Russell's pace and right behind Verstappen, though neither Italian car ran the soft-compound tyre as teams completed varied programmes. Antonelli ended fifth, 0.878 seconds off Russell, after failing to get a lap on the softs. The Italian had been fastest in the early running on hard tyres before stopping at Turn One on his first soft-tyre lap, with smoke seeping from the cooling vents on his engine cover, and he missed half the session.
Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were seventh and eighth, ahead of Haas driver Esteban Ocon, who admitted on Thursday he is a free agent for 2027 as he fights for his F1 career. The Audis of Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg, both carrying a major upgrade, completed the top 10 in ninth and 10th. Hulkenberg later stopped on track with a technical problem, shortly after Lindblad made an error at Turn Seven and stopped facing the barriers before reversing out and continuing. Russell and Verstappen also made errors, both taking to the run-off area after missing braking points at Turn Three and Turn One respectively.
Antonelli will look to make up ground in the second session later in the day after his curtailed running. His position at the top of the standings comes as he called Verstappen an unknown quantity in the title chase, with Russell now aiming to close the gap on the streets of Baku.