Overview

• The Mercedes rookie qualified fourth and finished fourth in Azerbaijan, his joint-second best result of the season after Canada.
• James Allison praised the teenager for “not putting a foot wrong” and said he was close to starting P2 in a red flag‑strewn qualifying.
• Antonelli out‑qualified George Russell for only the second time this year, underlining a cleaner, more composed weekend.
• Team leaders detailed a shift to prioritize stable, productive free practice to set up qualifying and the race after a costly run of scrappy Fridays.
• The reset followed a European slump of just three points in nine races, including a penalty for punting Charles Leclerc in Zandvoort and Toto Wolff’s Monza criticism, with Mercedes also citing disrupted simulator prep before Monza.