The Azerbaijan Grand Prix got underway with its first practice session on Friday, and Mercedes driver George Russell made an impressive statement of intent. The British driver topped the timesheets, edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen by a margin of 0.4 seconds.
Russell's pace was a significant boost for the team, who trail championship leader Kimi Antonelli by 81 points. However, Antonelli's day took an unexpected turn when he stopped on track with a hydraulic leak on his first lap on the soft tyres.
The Italian driver, who had been running on hard tyres earlier in the session and was fastest at that point, was unable to complete a full lap on the softer compound. As a result, he will have some catching up to do in the second practice session later in the day.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth respectively, both just over 0.4 seconds off Russell's pace. However, neither of the Italian cars ran on the soft tyres during the session, instead opting for a varied programme to start the weekend.
The incident involving Antonelli was not the only one in the session, as several drivers made errors throughout the day. Verstappen and Russell both took to the run-off area when they missed their braking points, with the Mercedes driver struggling at Turn Three and the Red Bull driver making a mistake at Turn One.
Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls were seventh and eighth respectively, ahead of Haas driver Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman is fighting for his F1 career after admitting on Thursday that he will be a free agent in 2027.
