Motor racing-Russell leads Antonelli as Mercedes dominate opening day of Azerbaijan practice

George Russell set a dominant pace to end the opening day of practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix fastest ahead of runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who completed a one-two at the top ‌of the timesheets for Mercedes. The Briton, who was also quickest in the first session of practice, lapped the 6-km Baku street circuit in one minute, 43.347 seconds during the second hour of running.

Italian Antonelli, sidelined by a hydraulics issue in the first session, was a sizeable 0.552 seconds off his teammate’s pace. But the ‌20-year-old, who leads Russell by 81 points in the standings after 14 rounds, was heavily compromised on track time, only coming out with less ‌than half an hour of the second session remaining.

Four-times champion Max Verstappen, second in the first session, fell back to third at the end of the day, with the Dutchman a whopping 0.827 seconds off Russell’s pace. Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and fifth but over a second off the pace.

Stewards were set to investigate the seven-times world ⁠champion after the ​session for impeding Racing Bulls' Liam ⁠Lawson through a high-speed section of the track, with the New Zealander over the radio calling Hamilton’s driving dangerous. McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris, who spent a considerable amount of time in ⁠the garage in first practice, ended the day in sixth place ahead of Alpine racer Pierre Gasly and Australian teammate Oscar Piastri.

Isack Hadjar, who missed the last three ​races with a wrist injury and whom Red Bull handed a contract extension on Wednesday, ended his first day back behind the wheel ⁠of his Red Bull in ninth. Esteban Ocon, facing an uncertain future, rounded out the top 10 for American team Haas.

The Baku circuit, a mix of flat-out blasts and tight corners, has a ⁠reputation ​for unpredictable races with safety cars a regular feature at the track. After a relatively quiet opening hour of running, the second session of practice was halted for 11 minutes after Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad clobbered the wall at the entrance to the narrow "castle section" of the track.

Oliver Bearman ⁠joined him on the sidelines as soon as the session resumed with the Briton parking up his Haas with an engine issue. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix, ⁠the first of a "triple header" of races ⁠on consecutive weekends, is being run on Saturday this year with the country marking its Remembrance Day on Sunday.

Seven different driver have won the nine races hosted by the Baku street circuit so far, with Verstappen and former ‌teammate, Mexican Sergio Perez, ‌the only two to have won there more than once.