George Russell set the tone early in Baku, going quickest inside the opening half hour and never really being troubled after that, eventually stopping the clock at 1:45.387 to lead the way. Verstappen ran him closest in second, with Leclerc just 0.004 seconds further back in third after a clean, mistake-free session. Antonelli’s day was the messier one, a hydraulic issue curtailing his running and leaving him down in fifth despite Mercedes looking strong all session. Later on, Lindblad stopped out in a run-off area and Hulkenberg was forced to climb out of his Audi, triggering a Virtual Safety Car that scrambled the closing stages.
With the dust settled, Russell led Verstappen and Leclerc, with Hamilton and Antonelli rounding out the top five. Piastri was sixth ahead of Lawson and Lindblad, with Ocon and Bortoleto completing the top ten.
