# Russell Tops Practice as Antonelli's Hydraulics Fail

> George Russell leads Azerbaijan GP practice with Kimi Antonelli's hydraulics issue forcing early exit
- Title: Russell Tops Practice as Antonelli's Hydraulics Fail
- Summary: George Russell leads Azerbaijan GP practice with Kimi Antonelli's hydraulics issue forcing early exit Antonelli lost 35 minutes of track time due to…
- Keywords: george russell, kimi antonelli, mercedes, ferrari, red bull, azerbaijan gp, baku, formula 1, hydraulics leak, practice session, drivers championship, Russell
- Source: Sky Sports — https://skysports.com/f1/news/12040/13591251/azerbaijan-gp-george-russell-fastest-as-kimi-antonelli-suffers-hydraulics-leak-in-baku-first-practice
- Author: Nigel Chiu
- Published: 2026-09-24T10:40:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: george russell, kimi antonelli, mercedes, ferrari, red bull, azerbaijan gp, baku, f1, formula 1, hydraulics leak, practice session, drivers championship
## Russell fastest
George Russell topped first practice in Baku with a time of 1:45.387, outpacing Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.400 seconds.

> George Russell was fastest in first practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as championship leader Kimi Antonelli stopped on track with a hydraulics issue.
## Antonelli's hydraulics issue
Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes suffered a hydraulics leak during practice, forcing him to stop and lose 35 minutes of track time.

> Kimi Antonelli ends his first practice session early after a hydraulics failure on his Mercedes
## Championship gap
Russell trails Antonelli by 81 points in the Drivers' Championship and must close the gap quickly to avoid an early title conclusion.

> Russell is 81 points behind Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship and must start gaining ground on his team-mate soon to avoid an early conclusion to the Formula 1 title race
## Slipstream advantage
Russell used a slipstream from Fernando Alonso to beat Verstappen and both Ferraris by four tenths of a second on his best lap.

> The Mercedes driver was helped by a big slipstream from Fernando Alonso on his best lap to outpace Red Bull's Max Verstappen and both Ferraris by four tenths
## Antonelli's concerns
Antonelli, who won the last two races, fears his 81-point lead over Russell could be cut quickly at Baku due to the track's difficulty.

> The Italian has won the last two races but Baku is one of the toughest tracks on the calendar and often throws up drama, so Antonelli is wary of how his 81-point lead over Russell and 100+ points advantage to Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris could quickly be cut
## Mercedes reliability
Mercedes faces reliability concerns after Antonelli's hydraulics issue, despite recent improvements in the last few races.

> The bigger concern is why they had the issue. We knew reliability was a big talking point for Mercedes earlier in the session; it seems to have been in a much better place the last few races especially
## Hamilton and Leclerc
Hamilton and Leclerc set their best times on medium tires, aiming for pole position in qualifying on Friday.

> Hamilton and Charles Leclerc set their best times on the mediums, so will be hoping to be in contention for pole in Qualifying on Friday and the win in the race itself on Saturday afternoon
## Red Bull upgrades
Red Bull introduced new parts including a revised floor, sidepod, and mirrors for Baku, with Verstappen showing strong performance.

> Red Bull have brought some new parts to Baku including a revised floor, sidepod and mirrors and Verstappen looked very quick on the hard tyres early in the session
## Key takeaway

Antonelli lost 35 minutes of track time due to hydraulics failure, dropping 81 points behind Russell in the championship