George Russell seizes early control as Kimi Antonelli plagued by FP1 issue in Baku

George Russell posted the quickest time in FP1 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, going four-tenths of a second faster than Max Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc rounded out the top three at the Baku City Circuit, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli.

The 20-year-old only managed 25 minutes of running before a suspected hydraulic problem curtailed his first free practice session.

Antonelli parked his Mercedes at Turn 7, with smoke billowing from its outlets and a virtual safety car triggered as the W17 was moved out of the way.

Isack Hadjar endured a disrupted hour, the last thing he would want upon his return from injury. His Red Bull appeared to suffer an engine issue, with the 21-year-old telling the Milton Keynes-based squad it was "broken" over the radio.

The McLaren pair of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris also experienced a difficult opening to the weekend in Baku, ending the session down in P10 and P15, respectively, after precautions at the papaya team following suspected radiator damage from a loose bargeboard on the Briton's MCL40.

Check out the full FP1 report at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix below.

Opening phase

Arvid Lindblad led the field out onto the Baku City Circuit to get FP1 underway, with his Racing Bulls machine adorned with two huge aerodynamic rakes, as the team looked to test its upgrades for the weekend.

Hadjar, on his return to the cockpit of his RB22, was quick to complain about pulling under braking. Meanwhile, Red Bull team-mate Verstappen was also experiencing difficulties.

However, the Dutchman would lead the early running, setting multiple fastest laps as the benchmark came down from an early 1:49 to a 1:46.635 at the 10-minute point, some seven tenths of a second quicker than Antonelli in second.

Piastri was also complaining about his brakes, claiming the vibrations were twice as bad as anything he had ever endured.

Alex Albon radioed in to Williams to say his brakes felt "very strange", but the real drama would befall Carlos Sainz in the sister car, who pulled into the pits with his rear set on fire.

Although Verstappen had brought the threshold down further, to a 1:46.5, just after the quarter-of-an-hour mark, Antonelli would go quickest, with a 1:46.265.

There were more serious issues for Hadjar at Red Bull, with the Frenchman claiming his engine was broken and promptly returning to his garage.

Antonelli-induced VSC

With 25 minutes gone, a hydraulic problem ended Antonelli's session, with the championship leader parking his smoking Mercedes at Turn 7, bringing out a virtual safety car.

Once the session resumed in anger, Russell in the second W17 narrowly avoided the wall at Turn 3, taking to the run-off area after a moment under braking. Verstappen befell a similar fate at Turn 1, but both drivers were able to continue.

The pair would soon usurp Antonelli at the top of the timing board. A 1:45.787 for the Red Bull driver, with Russell almost half a second adrift.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, it became apparent that Hadjar would not return to the track, as his car was on jacks after the reported engine issue he was experiencing

Soon after, Russell eased to the quickest time of the session so far, with a 1:45.387. That effort would ultimately remain untroubled.

Lindblad and Nico Hulkenberg simultaneously triggered the second VSC of the session, with stoppages at Turn 7 and in Sector 3, respectively, inside the final five minutes. Esteban Ocon also stopped out on track in the dying moments.