Verstappen topped Baku final practice over Russell
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 25, 2026
Final-practice order tightened
Max Verstappen closed Baku practice at the top of the timesheets, posting a 1:43.922 lap in final practice and edging George Russell by 0.099 seconds. Lewis Hamilton took third, Kimi Antonelli was fourth and Charles Leclerc finished fifth, a tight spread that kept the front of the field packed together heading into qualifying. Russell, who had already set the pace in the first two sessions, also showed strong speed throughout the day. He led first practice with a 1:45.387 lap, then went quickest again in second practice with a 1:43.347 effort. Verstappen was second in the opening session, 0.400 seconds behind Russell, before taking third in the afternoon run. Leclerc and Hamilton followed Verstappen in first practice as the pair stayed close in the top five. The repeated changes at the front underlined how quickly the order shifted on a circuit where a clean lap carried real value and where every run through the Baku streets mattered.
Russell and Antonelli
The first two sessions brought the day’s biggest swings. Antonelli briefly went fastest in first practice before a hydraulic problem stopped his Mercedes at Turn 7 and brought out a virtual safety car. He still finished fifth after only nine laps, a limited run that left him well short of a full program. Russell took control from there, while Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton followed behind him. Oscar Piastri placed sixth in first practice for McLaren, and Lando Norris ended the session 14th after limited running. The second practice hour added more disruption. Antonelli returned to finish second, 0.552 seconds behind Russell, after the hydraulic issue and a power-unit change delayed him. Verstappen was third, Leclerc fourth and Hamilton fifth. The session also went red-flagged after Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad crashed in the castle section. Haas driver Oliver Bearman later stopped with a power-unit problem, adding another interruption to a day that never settled into a clean rhythm.
Baku conditions and qualifying
Pirelli said Baku’s dusty, low-grip surface made tyre preparation crucial and pointed to a likely one-stop race, a sign that the weekend could turn on who managed the tires best rather than who flashed the most outright speed in one lap. Final practice reinforced that view. Strong winds and slipstream effects shaped the session, and the times at the top stayed close enough to suggest that drafting and execution could carry as much weight as raw pace. Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Antonelli and Leclerc all spent parts of the day near the front, while the midfield dealt with traffic, interruptions and short runs that made it harder to build momentum. McLaren’s pace also remained part of the picture, even with Norris and Piastri banking mixed results across the sessions. The challenge in Baku often comes from putting a lap together at the right moment, and Friday’s qualifying session was set for 4 p.m. local time in Baku, when the field would get its first true answer to who had the edge.
