Mercedes opened the Baku weekend on top, but not with the driver who leads the championship. George Russell set the fastest time of FP1 at the Baku City Circuit, a 1:45.387 on soft tyres, helped by a strong slipstream from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin down the 2.2-kilometre main straight. Max Verstappen finished second for Red Bull, 0.400 seconds back, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth for Ferrari, both within half a second and both without a soft-tyre run.

Kimi Antonelli, who arrives in Azerbaijan 81 points clear of Russell, was leading the session at the one-third mark. Shortly after switching to softs he reported a loss of hydraulics, smoke was seen from the back of his Mercedes, and he stopped on track. He still classified fifth, 0.878 seconds off his team-mate, after only nine laps. With the Grand Prix moved to Saturday for Azerbaijan Remembrance Day, the lost running comes on a compressed weekend where FP2 later today is one of only two sessions left before Friday’s qualifying.

Russell’s lap, and what sits behind it

Russell’s benchmark arrived with about 20 minutes left, and it came with a caveat. He picked up a tow from Alonso on the main straight, which on a circuit this long is worth a meaningful chunk of lap time. Verstappen had briefly gone top on his own soft-tyre run with a 1:45.787 after aborting two earlier attempts when he ran wide, and he spent the final 11 minutes back on the hard tyre.

The Ferrari numbers may be the more interesting ones. Leclerc was 0.404 seconds from Russell’s time on the slower medium compound and, according to Crash.net’s live coverage, without a slipstream of his own. Ferrari deliberately skipped the soft tyre in FP1, moving from hards to mediums while most of the field switched to softs. That leaves both red cars with pace still to show, on a track where the team has long been strong in qualifying.

“This one is coming to the end of its life, let’s say.”

— George Russell on his current Mercedes power unit, speaking in Baku on Thursday (via Crash.net)

Russell’s pace also comes on an ageing engine. He confirmed on Thursday that he will not take his planned power-unit change in Baku, because Mercedes has an upgrade due under the ADUO system (the extra development allowance for manufacturers who are behind on engine performance) in the coming weeks. He explained that a turbo change in Hungary means taking a fresh unit now would have triggered a second grid penalty later.

Antonelli’s nine laps

For the championship leader, the problem is lost mileage, not lost pace. Antonelli had been quickest at the one-third mark before the hydraulics failed, and the Mercedes stoppage brought out yellow flags. Nine laps is thin preparation for a street circuit that punishes any lack of confidence near the walls, particularly with qualifying less than 30 hours away. How quickly Mercedes can turn the car around for FP2 at 16:00 local time is now the first real question of his weekend.

Hadjar’s difficult return, McLaren’s scrappy start

Isack Hadjar’s first session back after the hand injury that ruled him out of the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix ended after eight laps. An engine problem ended his running, and his Red Bull was put up on jacks in the garage. He finished 20th, and Red Bull will be hoping for a clean FP2 so he can build some rhythm before qualifying.

McLaren brought an extensive upgrade package to Baku, including a revised sidepod inlet, engine cover, floor edge and diffuser, but the new MCL40 spent much of FP1 in the garage. Oscar Piastri was called in to check the car, returned to the pits for more work, and still finished sixth. Lando Norris ran late in the session with a cable tie holding a bodywork panel in place and ended 14th, 1.594 seconds down after only 14 laps.

The session finished under a second Virtual Safety Car after Arvid Lindblad stopped at Turn 6 and Nico Hülkenberg stopped at Turn 4. Lindblad reversed out and still took eighth for Racing Bulls, one place behind team-mate Liam Lawson, while Esteban Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto completed the top ten.