Mercedes F1 topped the timesheets on Friday at the 2026 Azerbaijan GP with George Russell, while Kimi Antonelli was P2 in FP2.
However, Deputy Team Principal, Bradley Lord, quickly downplayed the margin ahead of the rest of the Baku weekend. Behind that headline pace, though, the day told two very different stories.
George Russell found his rhythm on a street circuit that has always suited him, going fastest by half a second in the second session. Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli lost half of FP1 and FP2 due to a hydraulic problem. That failure forced the team into an unscheduled power unit change.
Bradley Lord: “I don’t think it’s a representative gap”
When questioned whether Lord was surprised by just how far ahead Mercedes looked, since several rivals were caught out by the margin, Lord pushed back on reading too much into the timesheets. Lando Norris aborted a lap which would have put him P2 or P3.
“Yeah, I don’t think it’s a representative gap, honestly. We ran more timed laps on the soft tyre in FP2. Max [Verstappen] only had one go, so did the McLarens, so probably don’t read too much into it, because every timed lap you did, the lap times were improving. We did one more than everyone else, and therefore probably found a bit more in the track and a bit more in the tyre than they were able to.”
In other words, the pace of Mercedes at the F1 Azerbaijan GP flatters the true picture, says Lord. More laps on a street track that gets faster and faster with more rubber explains the gap. It wasn’t a sudden leap in performance.
Antonelli’s difficult Friday
Russell banked lap after lap during the FP sessions. Antonelli’s side of the garage, however, fought a different battle. Lord was asked how painful the hydraulic issue had been on a circuit where drivers need to build confidence run to run. The deputy team principal was more than happy to explain.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s putting him behind the curve a little bit, so he’s just missing laps and missing time out on track, but equally, mega job from the mechanics. You know, the car came back, I think, 15 minutes after practice [1], and it was ready to go just as the red flag came out in FP2. So they did an epic job to swap the engine, get the old one out, new one in. No penalty, because it’s one that’s already in the pool, and yeah, we were ready to go. So at least salvaged as much of the session as we could. George [Russell] looked really comfortable.”
The team is still fighting on two fronts in the championship battle. So losing track time anywhere at the F1 Azerbaijan GP hurts Mercedes. Baku’s bumpy, wall-lined layout makes it worse than most circuits. As a result, every missed lap here costs more than it would elsewhere.
George Russell: Free mind, familiar form
Lord was questioned on whether Russell’s strong Friday connected to his mindset since Madrid. There, Russell had said he no longer felt he was in a title fight. Instead, he had said he was driving with a free mind, chasing as many wins as possible. Of course, he had something else to say during this weekend.
However, Lord pointed to history rather than psychology. “I mean, George was pretty sick here last year and finished P2, so it’s a circuit, I mean, he goes well at every circuit. This is one where traditionally he’s had some really strong results, and that’s what you’re looking for as a team, is that if one car hits trouble, the other one’s right up there and leading the way, and he’s done that today and hopefully can continue doing that through the rest of the weekend.”
That split, one car flying while the other rebuilds, sums up Mercedes’ Friday F1 Azerbaijan GP running. So far, Russell has carried the weight of it. When further questioned if anything specific about Baku suited his driving style, Lord kept it simple.
“I think he’s just getting dialled into the circuit and able to judge exactly where the limit is and just being a really very good and very fast Formula 1 driver.”
Kimi Antonelli on his own compromised day
Antonelli’s own assessment matched Bradley Lord’s account of a difficult Friday at the F1 Azerbaijan GP. It was one lost to circumstance rather than pace.
“Compromised day because, you know, with the issues we had, lost a lot of laps in FP1 and half of FP2, so never ideal. But overall, you know, with the laps I did, I felt quite OK in the car, but of course lots of work to do ahead of tomorrow.”
He was then questioned on whether he felt confident the hydraulic issue wouldn’t resurface on Saturday, Antonelli was candid about the uncertainty still hanging over the car.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re still trying to understand what was the cause of it, but it was a bit unexpected. But I’m sure the team is doing the best to understand what was the cause, and yeah, now we have to change the PU, obviously, for safety, and we should be fine for tomorrow.”
The power unit swap raised an obvious follow-up about grid penalties later in the season. Every point still matters in a championship fight, no matter the gap. Therefore, Antonelli did not shy away from the question.
“Well, we’re, you know, we’ll see what’s going to happen, but we’re trying our best not to take any more penalties for this year.”
Mercedes’ F1 Azerbaijan GP split between two cars
Friday in Baku leaves Mercedes’ efforts with a genuinely split picture heading into qualifying. Russell looks every bit the driver Lord describes: dialled in, comfortable, and building on a track record that already includes a podium here.
Antonelli, meanwhile, arrives on Saturday with far less data. His car also carries a freshly swapped power unit. He is still trying to find the rhythm his teammate has already locked into. If Friday’s timesheets held any signal at all, it wasn’t a sudden leap in Mercedes’ raw pace.
Instead, it showed which side of the garage got to do its job uninterrupted. For the rest of the F1 Azerbaijan GP weekend, closing the gap between the two Mercedes cars will matter more than anything printed on Friday’s screens.
