Mercedes opened the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend with George Russell fastest in both practice sessions on the streets of Baku. His team-mate Kimi Antonelli ended the day second quickest despite losing significant running to a hydraulics problem and a precautionary power unit change. The team says the timing screens probably flatter its advantage, with rivals leaving lap time on the table.
Warm conditions greeted the Formula 1 field for the opening day of the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with track temperatures in the high 40s Celsius. Mercedes came away with both cars at the top of the second practice timesheet, although only one of its drivers got a clean run at the programme.
Russell fastest in both sessions
Both drivers were able to complete their work on the hard compound. Russell then went to the soft tyre in the first session and put himself at the head of the order, four tenths clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second place.
For the second session the Briton started on the medium C4 compound. After a brief red flag caused by an incident involving Arvid Lindblad at Turn 9, both Mercedes drivers returned to the circuit on the soft C3 tyre for their qualifying simulations. Russell again ended the hour quickest before closing out the day with long-run work on the C4 medium.
A disrupted day for Antonelli
Antonelli’s opening session was cut short after nine laps by a loss of hydraulic pressure. According to trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin, the leak appeared on the Italian’s second run and ended his session after only three flying laps.
As a precaution the team changed the power unit on his car during the break between sessions, which left him waiting in the garage at the start of second practice and cost him further track time. He still managed to complete a mix of low-fuel and high-fuel running, setting a lap on the soft compound that left him five tenths behind his team-mate and completed a Mercedes one-two on the timesheet.
The team is cautious about the gaps
Mercedes is not reading too much into the margins it showed on Thursday. Shovlin said several rivals had left time on the table during their soft-tyre runs and that the field is likely to be considerably closer than the order suggests.
“Overall it was a solid day. George’s car ran reliably throughout, he was fastest in both sessions and completed a productive long run. There are still areas where we can improve — as always on a Friday — but the car is behaving well and we are very encouraged by what we have seen so far.”
On Antonelli’s side of the garage, the message was about recovering mileage rather than chasing lap time. Losing laps is never ideal on a street circuit such as Baku, where confidence builds with every lap, but the team said the car felt consistent over the running it did manage and that finishing the day second was a positive step.
What it means for the weekend
The team’s own reading of its race pace puts it on a level with McLaren and Red Bull, with the expectation that the gaps will shrink in qualifying. That leaves overnight work on both cars: fine-tuning on Russell’s side, and establishing the root cause of the hydraulic issue on Antonelli’s.
Facts: Mercedes at the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
- Venue: Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan
- Date: Practice day, 25 September 2026
- Track temperature: high 40s Celsius (around 120 °F)
- FP1: Russell fastest on the soft tyre, 0.4s ahead of Verstappen; Antonelli stopped after nine laps with a hydraulic pressure loss
- FP2: Russell fastest on the C3 soft, long runs on the C4 medium; Antonelli second, 0.5s back
- Repairs: precautionary power unit change on Antonelli’s car between sessions
- Interruption: red flag after an incident involving Arvid Lindblad at Turn 9
Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix follows on Saturday, with the race on Sunday.
Source: media.mercedes-benz.com