George Russell set the fastest time in a heavily disrupted opening Free Practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at the Baku City Circuit, with the Mercedes driver posting a 1:45.387 to edge Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.400 seconds.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli had briefly held the top spot with a 1:46.265 before his session ended prematurely when he stopped at Turn 7 with a hydraulic problem. The Italian completed just nine laps, prompting a Virtual Safety Car while marshals attended to his stricken Mercedes.

Once green-flag conditions resumed, Russell switched to Soft tyres and, aided by a tow from Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, delivered the session’s benchmark lap. Verstappen went second with a 1:45.787 after abandoning an earlier Soft-tyre run following a lock-up at Turn 1. Charles Leclerc was third, just 0.004 seconds behind Verstappen, with Lewis Hamilton fourth on a 1:45.824 — all four drivers finishing within 0.437 seconds of Russell.

Despite completing only nine laps, Antonelli’s earlier time was sufficient for fifth overall. Oscar Piastri took sixth after a disrupted session of his own, having been called into the pits for a damage check before spending much of the session in the garage.

McLaren’s troubles extended to reigning champion Lando Norris, who completed only 14 laps after the team detected movement in the floor area of his car. A temporary repair allowed him to return, but he finished 14th with a 1:46.981.

Elsewhere, Isack Hadjar — returning to the Red Bull seat after recovering from a wrist injury — was limited to eight laps after being instructed to stay in second gear due to an engine-related problem, leaving him 20th. Williams endured a difficult session as Carlos Sainz suffered a pit lane fire before returning to action. Arvid Lindblad briefly became stuck at Turn 7, Nico Hülkenberg stopped at Turn 4 and climbed out to help push his Audi clear, and Esteban Ocon halted at pit exit.

Liam Lawson, Lindblad, Ocon and Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10 for Racing Bulls, Racing Bulls, Haas and Audi respectively.