Baku – George Russell grabbed a useful tow from Fernando Alonso to beat Max Verstappen to P1 in the opening practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc third fastest.
But there were problems for Russell and Verstappen’s teammates as championship leader Kimi Antonelli had his session cut short when he “lost hydraulics” having just set the pace on the hard Pirellis, while a suspected engine problem limited Isack Hadjar to just eight laps on his return to the track after his wrist injury.
George Russell leads Max Verstappen in Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP1
It was a hot but windless start to the Baku weekend as the drivers took to the track for FP1, including Isack Hadjar. The Frenchman was back in the RB22 having missed three races with a wrist injury.
Hadjar had a moment trying to slow his Red Bull. He told the team: “Crazy pulling on the brakes. Nearly shunted into the wall.”
Oscar Piastri also wasn’t happy with his brakes, telling McLaren that the vibration on his brakes was “twice as bad” as anything he’d ever experienced.
Max Verstappen also reported “pulling to the right” – and went quickest with a 1:49.202. He lowered the benchmark time to a 1:46.512 as Alex Albon joined the growing list of drivers complaining about their brakes.
Minutes later, Albon’s teammate Carlos Sainz pulled into the pits with his rear brakes on fire. Not ideal for Williams, who brought its latest batch of updates to Baku.
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Kimi Antonelli replaced Verstappen in P1 with a 1:46.265, before Lewis Hamilton moved up to second, putting Verstappen into third. The Dutchman’s teammate Hadjar was ninth and on his way back into the pit lane as his engine was “broken”.
Antonelli returned to the pits after his P1 lap, before heading back out. But his session came to an abrupt halt on his out-lap as he reported “lost hydraulics”. He stopped at Turn 7 with his brakes smoking, before a marshal sprayed the car.
Mercedes came within moments of double disappointment as Russell went in too hot into Turn 3 and bailed out, but was inches away from hitting the wall. Almost simultaneously, Verstappen locked up heavily and went straight on at Turn 1. Gabriel Bortoleto had a moment in Turn 10.
Swapping to the soft Pirelli tyres, Verstappen put in a flying 1:45.787, almost half a second clear of Russell. Russell improved his time to go four-tenths clear of Verstappen having used a slipstream from Fernando Alonso.
As the drivers continued to test the track limits, Charles Leclerc had to use the Turn 1 escape road after perhaps going in too hot after getting a tow from Verstappen, and Liam Lawson, back in the Racing Bulls, had a very close encounter with a wall. Alonso also had an off at Turn 1.
Hadjar’s session looked to be over with 20 minutes to go as his Red Bull RB22 was up on jacks with his mechanics working on it. Oscar Piastri’s session was also over, McLaren telling him to “shut” the car off. His teammate Lando Norris was also in the garage, having completed just eight laps.
Norris was back in track with 10 minutes to go, McLaren having attached his floorboard with a stay. Arvid Lindblad brought out the yellow flags as he got it wrong at Turn 7, while Nico Hulkenberg stopped at Turn 4. That brought out the VSC. Esteban Ocon stopped at the pit exit with two minutes remaining in the session, but he was able to get his car going.
The session ended with Russell P1 ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: FP1 Top Ten
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:45.387 – soft
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.400 – soft
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.404 – soft
4 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.437 – soft
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.878 – hard
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.011 – soft
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.053 – soft
8 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.214 – soft
9 Esteban Ocon Haas +1.214 – soft
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.301
The full results from FP1 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
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