George Russell finished fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver leading Max Verstappen as Kimi Antonelli’s session was cut short by a mechanical issue. Russell topped the opening one-hour session after posting a 1m 45.387s, leaving him four tenths clear of Verstappen, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top three. A flurry of cars headed out on track once the green light appeared at the end of the pit lane at 1230 local time, with drivers immediately met by a dusty and slippery track surface on the streets of Baku....

Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll will take grid penalties at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after Aston Martin decided to implement a number of new engine components. Alonso’s car will feature a fresh internal combustion engine (ICE), thereby exceeding the permitted allocation of four across the season. The Spaniard will also receive a new turbocharger (his fifth of the season) and power unit ancillary component (his ninth of the six allowed), further contributing to the incoming penalty....

Mercedes With their punishing walls and tricky layouts, street circuits are bold places to debut extensive upgrades, but a significant number of teams have decided to bring new parts to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. We’ve rounded up all the details below… Comfortably sitting as both the Drivers' and Teams' Championship leaders, Mercedes haven’t submitted any upgrades this weekend. Similarly, Ferrari are seeking to maximise their current package in Baku. McLaren McLaren are the first of the frontrunners to introduce a wide range of upgrades, with several focusing on flow conditioning....

Rodin Motorsport could not have asked for a better start to their weekend in Baku as they swept both Qualifying sessions with two front-row lockouts. In Qualifying 1, it was Alexander Dunne on top with a 1m 55.383s, as team mate Martinius Stenshorne got to within 0.033s as the team claimed a 1-2. Campos Racing’s Noel León finished in third place ahead of ART Grand Prix driver Kush Maini and Invicta Racing’s Rafael Câmara....

Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu claims that an announcement about the team’s 2027 driver line-up will come “within the next couple of weeks”, but that no decision has been made yet regarding Esteban Ocon’s future. Ocon has faced speculation throughout much of the season on whether he would be retained by Haas, with the Frenchman stating ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix that he was “definitely a free agent for next year”....

Jamie Chadwick continued her record-breaking motorsport career with a recent test in Williams' 2025 Formula 1 challenger, becoming only the second woman to drive one of the team’s cars after F1 ACADEMY CEO Susie Wolff in 2015. The latest chapter of Chadwick’s 14 years of racing - which has spanned single-seaters, sportscars and championships like W Series and Indy NXT - came in Portimão, where she completed 32 laps of the circuit in the FW47....

George Russell comfortably set the pace during Thursday’s second practice session ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, leading the way from Mercedes team mate Kimi Antonelli and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Russell worked his way down to a time of 1m 43.347s with a series of runs on Pirelli’s soft compound tyre, putting him half a second up on championship leader Antonelli, and a further three tenths clear of Verstappen....

The 2026 Formula 1 season continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where precision and courage are essential for a driver to succeed around the historic streets of Baku. While enjoying the dramatic track action this venue has garnered a reputation for, put your knowledge to the test by playing our new Higher or Lower game, powered by F1 Global AI Partner, AWS, which automatically puts you into a draw to win Grand Prix tickets to a race of your choosing in 2027....

Lando Norris has described his and McLaren’s deficit to the front of the field during Thursday practice at the Baku City Circuit as “a little knife in the heart”, with the team “miles off” the pace as things stand. McLaren endured a disrupted start to the Azerbaijan weekend due to floorboard issues on their upgraded MCL40 through FP1 - Norris and team mate Oscar Piastri losing track time as mechanics worked on a fix....

Kimi Antonelli believes that his performance in practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix “was a good recovery”, after the Mercedes driver suffered a mechanical issue which curtailed much of his running. The Italian enters this weekend with an 81-point lead in the drivers' standings after his victory last time out in Madrid, but found himself on the back foot on Thursday in Baku. Antonelli suffered a hydraulic issue aboard his Mercedes approaching the halfway point of Free Practice 1 that ended his participation in the one-hour session....

Williams Team Principal James Vowles believes the major new upgrade the squad brought to Baku is a “step in the right direction, but not enough”. It has been a difficult season so far for the Grove-based outfit, with development delays forcing them to miss the Barcelona Shakedown while their performance has been hampered by an overweight car. Despite those difficulties, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon have managed to get 11 points on the board in the early races but, since Monaco, they have failed to score anything....

Cadillac have announced several changes to their technical leadership to be implemented over the coming months, with three figures set to join from rival teams such as Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. Having made their debut as a Formula 1 team this season, Cadillac have focused on building a robust foundation that they hope will enable them to make progress towards fighting at the front as their experience grows. As part of that ambition, they have already made a major switch in replacing Graeme Lowdon with Marcin Budkowski in the Team Principal role, owing to his previous stints at multiple championship-winning teams....

Isack Hadjar smiled that his Red Bull car felt “better than when I left it” at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix after returning to action during Thursday practice around the Baku City Circuit. Hadjar missed events at Zandvoort, Monza and the all-new Madring track over the last month, having injured his wrist while training in the summer break. However, he was finally able to get back into the cockpit of his RB22 in Azerbaijan, where Red Bull have introduced a host of updates - including to the floor body, diffuser and sidepods....

Lewis Hamilton believes “others just took another step” forward during Thursday practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Ferrari needing to find more performance if they are to challenge. Hamilton and Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc looked competitive during Free Practice 1 in Baku, the pair finishing third and fourth but only four tenths away from the top time having used the medium Pirelli tyre. By the second session however, that margin had expanded to 1....

Many a driver has gone up against Max Verstappen at Red Bull and struggled to make enough of an impact to avoid benching or being cut loose - but Isack Hadjar appears to have bucked the trend and that has earned him a second season with the six-time World Champions in 2027. The Frenchman is making his return to racing this weekend after missing the last three events while he recovered from a wrist injury, but before that bout of misfortune, Hadjar was on an immense run of form....

Esteban Ocon claims he is “definitely a free agent for next year” amid speculation about his Formula 1 future with Haas, adding that “I’ve got a lot more to give to this sport”. The Frenchman has been the focal point of rumours throughout much of 2026 that he will not be retained by Haas next season, which also included denying a rift between himself and the team ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix in May....