By: An unusual day for F1 fans. In Azerbaijan, the entire weekend has been moved forward by a day. Because a local holiday falls on Sunday this year, Formula 1 decided to bring everything forward, allowing the Azerbaijani people to enjoy the GP action before celebrating their holiday the following day.
It is a slightly unusual Thursday because, with practice having taken place, we are already discussing race pace. Several teams impressed in our view. McLaren and Red Bull have introduced significant upgrade packages which, from what was seen in these opening sessions, appear to be delivering clear benefits. There is great anticipation to see the true step made by the Woking team, which always holds back somewhat from showing its real potential on practice days. Red Bull, meanwhile, are not holding back.
Verstappen takes on the Mercedes drivers
Three drivers stood out most in terms of race pace. Verstappen was the quickest of the drivers on Soft tyres, but lacked consistency, partly due to traffic; he was very quick once he found clear air, though. Russell, meanwhile, is Thursday's most feared driver. Not even Antonelli — who missed half of the first session due to a technical problem — was able to stay close to him.
Never trust McLaren
That said, particularly because of the Medium tyres they used, we would say Mercedes have every chance of showing their strength in the GP to be held this Saturday as well. Verstappen follows closely behind, but there remains a major question mark over McLaren. You should never trust the Woking team, especially when they already look this close from the practice sessions.
Ferrari absent
Mercedes will probably be the team to beat in qualifying, but the race could then develop into a three-team battle for the podium and victory. Ferrari may not be part of that contest, potentially the major absentee after apparently struggling in both qualifying simulations and race-pace runs. The Scuderia suffers on the long straights and may have to rely on Baku's unpredictability to secure a good result on Saturday.
There is still room for improvement, but the Maranello outfit's weekend has certainly not begun in the best possible way.
Cover photo by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT Images
Internal graphics: Formula1.it
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Azerbaijan GP 2026
