Kimi Antonelli had just bolted on soft tyres and left the pit lane when his car rolled to a halt in the Turn 7 run-off. Mercedes reported a hydraulic problem over the radio, a virtual safety car went out and the 2026 championship leader’s opening Baku session was over after 25 minutes.

Teammate George Russell, the driver he leads in the standings, went on to top FP1 with a 1:45.387, four tenths clear of Max Verstappen, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind.

The mechanical scare was contained, not the theme of the day. On the Sky Sports F1 broadcast from Baku, three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick warned Antonelli that the hardest part of the season is still coming.

“I think Kimi has dealt with very well this year. He doesn’t seem to be so fazed about the pressure … at some point it’s going to come down to the finish point … that’s where pressure will ramp up,” Chadwick said.

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An 81-point lead, and nine rounds to run

Antonelli arrived in Azerbaijan with an 81-point lead over Russell at the top of the drivers’ standings, 292 points to 211 after the Spanish Grand Prix. Third-placed Lewis Hamilton is on 191.

Baku is round 15 of the 2026 season, with nine grands prix still to run.

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, alongside Chadwick on the Sky broadcast, offered a similar reading of the run Antonelli is on.

“It’s a huge lead on his team-mate. Right now he has what we call all the ‘luck of a champion’, which is everything goes well,” Villeneuve said.

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Baku on Saturday, and a hydraulic bill to pay first

The immediate question is what the hydraulic failure means for the rest of the weekend. Mercedes has to inspect the system before Free Practice 2, and Antonelli lost the low-fuel qualifying-simulation work that normally sets up the rest of the weekend, in a session where he still finished fifth without ever posting a representative lap.

Qualifying is on Friday, and the race itself has been pulled forward a day, with lights out at 3pm local time on Saturday, 26 September, so the schedule does not clash with Azerbaijan’s Day of Remembrance on the Sunday.

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