Max Verstappen second in first practice in Baku

Published on 24 September 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen set the second-fastest time during the first free practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. On the 6.003-kilometre Baku Street Circuit, George Russell set the fastest time in his Mercedes. Charles Leclerc was third in his Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes completed the top five. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing team-mate, Isack Hadjar, was back in action after his absence, but problems meant he could manage no better than twentieth.

The weather is glorious as the first practice session gets underway. The thermometer reads 28 degrees, while the track temperature is 50 degrees. As soon as the lights at the end of the pit lane turn green, the track immediately becomes busy. Max is also straight out on track, running a set of hard tyres, and immediately sets the fastest time. “The car is pulling strangely to the right, even when I am driving straight,” the Dutchman reports over the team radio.

Max briefly loses the fastest time to Leclerc’s Ferrari, but the flying Dutchman responds immediately, improving his time by more than two and a half seconds. This puts him more than two seconds clear of the rest of the field, which at that point is led by George Russell’s Mercedes.

As Max heads into the pits, it is Antonelli who moves to the top of the timing screens. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz heads into the pits with the brakes on his Williams on fire. Williams has brought a major upgrade to Baku, so these problems are the last thing the team needs. There are also problems with Hadjar’s Red Bull. He is instructed by the team to come into the pits while keeping the car in second gear on his way back.

The next driver to encounter problems is Antonelli, who reports a hydraulic issue before coming to a halt at Turn 7. The result is a Virtual Safety Car period. The young Italian had just headed out on soft tyres, but the problems mean we do not see him back on track for the rest of the session.

Halfway through the session, several drivers begin appearing on soft tyres. Max is also out on softs, but struggles to immediately put together a quick lap. Eventually, he manages it and puts his Red Bull back at the top of the timing sheets.

With twenty minutes remaining, Russell uses a slipstream from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin to move into first place. Oscar Piastri can now also be added to the list of drivers experiencing problems. The Australian is told to return to the pits, where his team-mate Lando Norris has already been for some time.

In the closing stages, Max switches back to the set of hard tyres he started the session on. His lap times suggest that Max is carrying out a race simulation with a considerable amount of fuel on board. As a result, his times do not improve further. Arvid Lindblad and Nico Hülkenberg cause another Virtual Safety Car period after both come to a halt on track. Lindblad goes off the track and clips the wall with his Racing Bulls, while Hülkenberg stops his Audi at Turn 4 with a technical problem. Finally, Esteban Ocon comes to a halt in his Haas as he exits the pit lane, bringing a messy first practice session in Baku to an end.

Results first free practice Azerbaijan: