George Russell completed a commanding Thursday in Baku by topping both practice sessions, leading Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in a one-two finish in FP2 ahead of Max Verstappen.
Formula 1’s shifted Azerbaijan Grand Prix schedule means there is little time to waste this weekend. FP1 and FP2 both took place on Thursday, with FP3 and qualifying following on Friday before the race itself on Saturday.
Russell had already set the pace in the opening session, but Mercedes strengthened its position in FP2. His 1m43.347s lap put him 0.552s clear of Antonelli, who recovered from the hydraulic problem that curtailed his FP1 running. Verstappen was third for Red Bull, while Ferrari occupied fourth and fifth with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
Russell leads FP1 as Antonelli’s session unravels
Russell topped Formula 1’s official FP1 classification with a 1m45.387s lap, putting the Mercedes 0.400s clear of Verstappen.
Leclerc was just four thousandths behind Verstappen in third, with Hamilton another 0.033s back in fourth. The gaps at the front were tight even before tyre choice and fuel loads were considered.
Antonelli had briefly set the pace earlier in the session on the hard tyre before his day took a more difficult turn. The championship leader stopped at Turn 7 after reporting a hydraulic problem, triggering a Virtual Safety Car while his Mercedes was recovered.
He still ended FP1 fifth, but completed only nine laps. On a street circuit where confidence and track evolution matter so much, that lost mileage made his recovery in FP2 particularly important.
Mercedes locks out the top two in FP2
Russell was faster again in FP2, lowering the benchmark to 1m43.347s across 24 laps. Antonelli returned to the circuit after his earlier hydraulic issue and finished second, 0.552s behind his team-mate, although his 16 laps still left him with less running than most of the leading contenders.
Verstappen was third at +0.827s after completing 23 laps, while Leclerc finished fourth at +1.126s and Hamilton fifth at +1.318s. Norris was sixth for McLaren, 1.484s off Russell, with Pierre Gasly seventh and Oscar Piastri eighth.
Isack Hadjar placed ninth on his return weekend and Esteban Ocon completed the top 10. Further down the order, some drivers recorded notably limited mileage: Arvid Lindblad completed only four laps, Fernando Alonso nine and Oliver Bearman 10.
FP2 top 10
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time/Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:43.347 | 24 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +0.552s | 16 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | +0.827s | 23 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.126s | 24 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +1.318s | 23 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +1.484s | 22 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.496s | 23 |
| 8 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +1.510s | 22 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull Racing | +1.521s | 21 |
| 10 | Esteban Ocon | Haas F1 Team | +1.943s | 25 |
Ferrari remains in the mix, but Mercedes has the clearest Thursday
FP1 had already suggested Ferrari’s raw position needed context. Leclerc and Hamilton set their quickest laps in that session on the medium compound while Russell and Verstappen used softs, so the opening order could not be read as a simple performance ranking.
By FP2, however, Mercedes had put both cars at the top of the classification. Russell’s margin of more than half a second over Antonelli and more than eight tenths over Verstappen gives the team the clearest headline from Thursday, even if practice fuel loads, engine modes and run programmes mean the true qualifying order remains uncertain.
Baku demands a difficult compromise between straight-line efficiency for the long blast towards Turn 1 and enough confidence through the slow, narrow middle sector. Friday’s final practice should therefore reveal whether Mercedes can carry its Thursday speed into qualifying trim.
McLaren improves after a disrupted FP1
McLaren’s opening session was less straightforward. Piastri finished sixth in FP1, while Norris was only 14th after spending a significant portion of the session in the garage.
Both cars moved into the top eight in FP2, with Norris sixth and Piastri eighth. That was a cleaner outcome, but the pair remained around one and a half seconds away from Russell’s benchmark on the final classification.
Antonelli recovers, but lost mileage still matters
Antonelli’s second place in FP2 was the most important recovery story of the afternoon. The hydraulic issue that stopped him in FP1 had restricted him to nine laps, and although he returned strongly, his 16 laps in FP2 were still fewer than Russell, Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton and both McLarens completed.
The championship leader arrived in Azerbaijan with an 81-point advantage over Russell, as covered in our 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix preview. That makes every reliability issue significant, particularly on a weekend compressed into a Thursday-to-Saturday schedule.
What Thursday tells us before qualifying
Russell leaves Thursday with the strongest single-lap headline after leading both sessions, while Antonelli’s FP2 recovery gives Mercedes a one-two at the end of the day. Verstappen remains the closest non-Mercedes driver on the FP2 sheet, with Ferrari next and McLaren needing to find more if the times are representative.
Practice rarely gives a complete picture, though, and Baku’s evolving track surface can change the balance quickly. The key questions for Friday are whether Mercedes can maintain its advantage, whether Ferrari’s underlying pace translates into a qualifying challenge and whether McLaren can close the gap after its interrupted start.
What happens next?
Attention now turns to Friday, with FP3 at 12:30 local time before qualifying at 16:00. With Mercedes setting the pace throughout Thursday, the final practice session will show whether Russell and Antonelli can carry that advantage into qualifying.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix itself takes place on Saturday 26 September at 15:00 local time, with Tech Torque Media continuing its Baku coverage through FP3, qualifying and the race.
