F1 · Reports
Antonelli leads Mercedes into Baku’s opening practice
Andrea Kimi Antonelli begins Azerbaijan Grand Prix first practice 81 points clear of George Russell, with Mercedes-AMG Petronas 145 ahead of Scuderia Ferrari.
Circuit context
Azerbaijan Grand Prix first practice is scheduled for 08:30 UTC on Thursday 24 September at Baku City Circuit, with the event record listing the session as scheduled. Source
The Baku venue’s Grand Prix configuration is listed at 6.003 kilometres, with 51 laps and a 306.049-kilometre race distance. Source
That makes this the opening on-track reference point in Azerbaijan rather than a session carrying an established result or lap-time order. Source
Driver and team form lines
Andrea Kimi Antonelli starts the Baku weekend atop the 2026 drivers’ standings for Mercedes-AMG Petronas on 292 points, having won eight races. Source
George Russell, his Mercedes-AMG Petronas team-mate, is second on 211 points with two wins, leaving Antonelli’s stated advantage at 81 points. Source
The figures place the first practice focus squarely on Mercedes’ two drivers: the championship leader and the only driver immediately behind him are in the same team. Source
Scuderia Ferrari arrive second in the constructors’ table on 358 points, while Mercedes-AMG Petronas lead it on 503. Source
The resulting 145-point gap is the team benchmark framing the session, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton sits third in the drivers’ standings on 191 points and Charles Leclerc is fifth on 167. Source Source
McLaren Racing are third among constructors on 306 points, 52 behind Ferrari, so the Baku order begins with Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren separated in that sequence in the official standings. Source
Variables: weather and tyres
The event listing specifies UTC for the session but does not yet provide a weather entry. Source
It also contains no completed lap count, distance or fastest-lap time for first practice, consistent with the session’s scheduled status at the time of the record. Source
Tyre-allocation and Pirelli compound information are not included in the available event record, so there is no sourced basis here to assign a compound plan or weather-driven expectation to any team. Source
The Read
Mercedes enter Baku’s first practice with the strongest confirmed championship position: Antonelli leads Russell by 81 points, and the team lead Ferrari by 145 in the constructors’ standings. Source Source
That does not establish a practice pecking order, because the available record contains neither a first-practice result nor a fastest lap. Source
Instead, the session opens as the first opportunity for the 2026 standings leaders to establish a Baku reference, with Antonelli’s individual lead and Mercedes’ team cushion providing the numerical context. Source Source Source
Temporal Read
This is a live preview of a session scheduled for 24 September 2026, not a recap. Source
The confirmed read before running is therefore limited to the standings and the published timetable: Antonelli and Mercedes bring the leads, while Baku first practice has yet to supply the lap-time evidence that could test them. Source Source Source
Key facts
6 data pointsSources used in this piece
4 sources01HFC Data
DataAzerbaijan Grand Prix first-practice schedule and session status
02HFC Data
Data2026 drivers’ championship standings and wins
03HFC Data
Data2026 constructors’ championship standings
What do these badges mean?
- Cross-checked
- Hangout FC data and an independent source agree on this figure.
- Single source
- One source backs this figure; no second source was available to check it.
- Partial coverage
- Our data covers this only partly, for example a table not yet updated with today's results. Treat it as context.
- Unverified source
- We could not resolve a source for this claim.
- Sources disagree
- Hangout FC data and another source give different figures. Both are listed.
