George Russell set the pace in a disrupted opening practice session for the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, while Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli endured a smoky setback and several leading contenders struggled for a clean run.
The unusual Saturday Grand Prix schedule meant Formula 1 arrived in Baku earlier than usual, with Thursday’s opening session beginning on a dusty and slippery street circuit.
With the track used just once a year, drivers initially adopted a cautious approach.
Max Verstappen was the first to establish a benchmark, posting 1m46.635s on hard tyres before lowering it to 1m46.512s despite reporting that his RB22 was suffering from pulling brakes.
Isack Hadjar, returning to the Red Bull cockpit after missing three races with a wrist fracture, fared worse, losing valuable running time to an apparent power unit problem.
Antonelli briefly moved to the top with a 1m46.265s after 15 minutes, but his session soon took a dramatic turn.
Antonelli brings out the VSC
The championship leader ground to a halt at Turn 7 with smoke pouring from his Mercedes W17, triggering a virtual safety car. Marshals quickly cleared the stricken car without needing to interrupt the session with a red flag.
The incident nevertheless deprived Antonelli of crucial track time, particularly as the field switched to soft tyres for the second half of the hour.
Verstappen initially appeared ready to reclaim control, but locked his fronts into Turn 1 and was forced down the escape road. His next attempt was cleaner and put him on top, before Russell responded with a lap four tenths quicker.
The Mercedes driver's 1m45.387s effort with 20 minutes remaining ultimately proved untouchable.
McLaren struggles as updates debut
Charles Leclerc came within just 0.0004s of Verstappen to finish third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, while Antonelli slipped to fifth despite his early pace.
The closing stages produced more disruption. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad lost control at Turn 7, while Audi's Nico Hulkenberg encountered trouble at Turn 4, prompting another virtual safety car.
Oscar Piastri managed to salvage sixth with a late improvement, although McLaren endured a scrappy session as both cars required damage checks. Lando Norris finished only 14th without setting a representative soft-tyre lap.
McLaren was also busy on the development front, trialling new sidepods, a revised floor edge and diffuser as it sought to address its low-speed weakness.
Liam Lawson marked his return to Racing Bulls with seventh, ahead of Lindblad, Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto.
The upgraded Audis put Williams outside the top ten, meanwhile, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon both evaluating their team's long-awaited package.
A redesigned floor and lighter chassis made their debut, although brake overheating restricted Sainz's running.
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook
