Mercedes driver George Russell topped first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, setting the fastest lap in FP1 and finishing 0.4 seconds clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were third and fourth, each just over 0.4 seconds off Russell and directly behind Verstappen. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli ran fifth on the harder tyres but stopped at Turn One with a hydraulic leak on his first soft-tyre lap, the smoke visible from his engine cover, leaving him 0.878 seconds adrift and having missed around half the session. Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg, driving Audis carrying a significant upgrade, were ninth and tenth, while Haas driver Esteban Ocon was inside the top 10 as he continues to contest his future after confirming he is a free agent for 2027. Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad placed seventh and eighth; Lindblad made an error at Turn Seven and stalled facing the barriers but recovered. Several drivers ran off at braking points during the session, with Russell running wide at Turn Three and Verstappen at Turn One, and Hülkenberg later stopping on track with a technical problem. Antonelli will need to make up running in FP2 later the same day because of the lost track time.
