George Russell topped a first practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in which Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli exited early.
Antonelli retired his smoking W17 after 25 minutes, citing an apparent hydraulics issue, at a time when he was leading the way.
The championship leader, 81 points clear in the drivers' standings, finished fifth quickest, 0.878s behind Russell's timesheet-topping one minute 45.387s.
In between the two Mercedes drivers were Red Bull's Max Verstappen and the Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, the trio all four-tenths of a second behind Russell.
Check out the full results from FP1 at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix below.
Result Free practice 1 - Azerbaijan
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results are being loaded... | ||||
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!