Russell Dominates Second Practice in Azerbaijan with Significant Lead Over Antonelli

After setting the fastest time in the opening free practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, George Russell once again topped the leaderboard at the end of the second hour of preparation on the Baku street circuit.

The British Mercedes driver secured first position with a time of 1:43.347, putting him a significant 0.552 seconds ahead of his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The championship leader lost valuable preparation time in the second practice session as Mercedes mechanics needed extra time to repair his car following a hydraulic system failure earlier in the day.

Max Verstappen completed the top three, 0.827 seconds adrift, making him the last driver within a second of Russell's pace. Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth, respectively, trailing the leader by 1.126 and 1.318 seconds. World Champion Lando Norris concluded Friday in sixth place, 1.484 seconds back, with Pierre Gasly, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, and Esteban Ocon rounding out the top 10.

Just before the first third of the session elapsed, Arvid Lindblad caused the first significant incident of the weekend, crashing at Turn 8 – the narrowest point not only on the Baku track but across the entire calendar. This marks the Racing Bulls driver's second consecutive weekend with a practice incident, following his crash in Madrid two weeks prior. The session was red-flagged for about ten minutes to allow marshals to clear the track and remove the damaged Racing Bulls car.

Immediately after the session resumed, Oliver Bearman pulled over into the run-off area at Turn 2, disappearing behind the barriers. The Haas driver reported over the radio that his car's engine had failed, a fact clearly visible from the onboard camera replay of the Briton's car.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, the 15th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, will continue tomorrow at 11:30 AM Bulgarian time with the third and final free practice session on the streets of Baku.