Overview
- George Russell posted the fastest laps in both free‑practice sessions in Baku, underlining a sudden burst of single‑lap pace for Mercedes.
- Kimi Antonelli lost substantial running after a hydraulic fault forced him to stop, a brief rear fire during recovery, and a power‑unit swap that used a pool engine and drew no penalty.
- Mercedes and rivals said the practice gap may overstate the true order because Mercedes ran more timed laps on the soft tyre in the second session.
- Multiple teams reported technical problems in the two sessions—brake vibrations, power‑unit faults and other defects disrupted running and hampered setup work across the field.
- F1 has deferred a final decision on the late‑season calendar to mid‑October because of regional security concerns, leaving the venues and team logistics unsettled as the title fight moves toward the final nine races.