Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes caught fire during the first practice session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after he stopped on track due to a hydraulic issue. Smoke was seen billowing from the vehicle, prompting an immediate response from marshals. One marshal discharged a fire extinguisher to suppress the flames, but some of the spray inadvertently hit Antonelli’s helmet. Despite the incident, Antonelli remained in good spirits, remarking that he encouraged the marshal to focus on saving as much of the car as possible and noted that the fire caused minimal damage.

In session timings, Antonelli finished nearly a second slower than teammate George Russell during the first hour of practice. However, he narrowed the gap in the second session, which Russell dominated overall. Meanwhile, McLaren driver Lando Norris faced a difficult day as the team introduced a significant package of new parts that failed to deliver performance gains. Norris ended up 1.5 seconds behind Russell, expressing frustration over the gap and describing the situation as “pretty pants.” He noted that the car’s handling did not feel significantly off, which made the pace deficit particularly disappointing.

Lewis Hamilton also lagged behind Russell’s pace in the second practice, finishing more than a second slower. Hamilton avoided a formal penalty during the session but received a reprimand for “severely” impeding Williams driver Liam Lawson in the first hour, a violation that could have led to further disciplinary action.

Overall, the session underscored Russell’s strong performance for Mercedes, while highlighting technical challenges and pace deficits experienced by other leading drivers ahead of the main race weekend in Baku.