George Russell completed a clean sweep of Thursday’s practice sessions at the Baku City Circuit, topping both FP1 and FP2 ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver comfortably led the second practice session, finishing ahead of his teammate Kimi Antonelli and four-time World Champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
Russell set the pace with a 1:43.347 on Pirelli’s soft tyres, finishing around half a second clear of championship leader Antonelli and three-tenths ahead of Verstappen.
A large number of cars immediately headed onto the circuit when the pit-lane lights turned green at 16:00 local time. The sun was gradually setting over Baku, although temperatures remained warm at around 30 degrees Celsius.
Most drivers spent the opening stages on medium or hard tyres, with Verstappen initially setting the benchmark at 1:45.115. However, the Red Bull driver was quickly on the radio to complain about the handling of his car.
“I’m constantly counter-steering because my rear axle is lifting off the ground,” Verstappen reported.
He subsequently improved to a 1:44.492 on the medium tyres, edging ahead of Russell on the same compound.
Further down the order, Lando Norris initially sat third ahead of Lewis Hamilton, returning Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar, Charles Leclerc and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Both McLaren drivers continued to use an emergency solution for the footwell issue encountered in FP1, with cable ties being used to secure the affected area.
However, less than 20 minutes into the session, the red flags were brought out after Arvid Lindblad pushed too hard through Turns 8 and 9 and hit the wall, leaving significant damage to the right-hand side of his Racing Bulls car.
“I’m really sorry,” the British rookie said over team radio. “I think I just clipped it by about a millimetre.”
Lindblad, who had also suffered a crash during FP2 in Madrid earlier this season, was collected by the Medical Car and taken back to the paddock.
Once Lindblad’s car had been recovered and the circuit cleared, the session resumed at 16:29 local time.
Attention immediately turned toward qualifying-style runs on the soft tyres, providing the first meaningful indication of how the one-lap order could look later in the weekend.
But drama struck again just moments after the restart, this time involving Ollie Bearman and Haas.
“My engine has stopped and… it’s broken,” Bearman reported over the radio after successfully pulling his car to the end of an escape road, making it easier for the marshals to recover the stricken Haas.
With Bearman and Lindblad watching from the sidelines, the remaining drivers began putting together increasingly competitive laps.
Russell initially posted a 1:43.759 to move ahead of Verstappen by around four-tenths, while Leclerc, Hamilton and Antonelli were nearly a second away from the Mercedes benchmark.
Russell then found even more time, setting a 1:43.347 to strengthen his position at the top of the timesheets.
Antonelli responded with a significant improvement to 1:43.899, moving into second place and pushing Verstappen down to third. Leclerc, Hamilton and Norris also featured among the leading runners.
Pierre Gasly placed his Alpine seventh, ahead of Piastri, Hadjar and the remaining Haas of Esteban Ocon. Franco Colapinto followed in the second Alpine, ahead of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson, who was frustrated by Hamilton’s slow-moving Mercedes in the final sector, and Cadillac driver Sergio Perez.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg occupied 14th and 15th respectively as Audi continued evaluating a series of upgrades.
The upgraded Williams cars of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz followed, with Lindblad, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Bearman completing the runners further down the order.
Aston Martin endured another difficult session, with Fernando Alonso restricted by what appeared to be an oil leak.
With FP1 and FP2 now complete, teams and drivers will spend the night analysing their data before returning to the Baku City Circuit for the final one-hour practice session.
FP3 is scheduled to begin at 12:30 local time on Friday, giving the drivers one final opportunity to fine-tune their cars before qualifying.
Russell’s double victory in Thursday practice will certainly give Mercedes plenty of confidence, but Baku is a circuit where practice pace can quickly become irrelevant once qualifying arrives. The combination of long straights, heavy braking zones and narrow walls leaves very little margin for error.
Verstappen’s complaints about the Red Bull’s rear stability will also be something to watch, while Lindblad’s crash and Bearman’s engine failure have already added an unwanted layer of drama to the weekend.
The real question now is whether Russell can carry this momentum into qualifying or whether the likes of Verstappen, Ferrari and McLaren can find another level when it matters.
What do you think? Can Russell turn Mercedes’ Thursday pace into pole position in Baku, or will Verstappen and the others strike back? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Adhe is part of the 88 Eight Box Editorial Team, covering JDM culture, motorsport, automotive technology, and industry news. The team focuses on delivering original automotive stories, reviews, and insights for enthusiasts worldwide.
