{
  "id": 9681287,
  "title": "Russell tops opening Azerbaijan practice, car trouble sidelines Antonelli",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/russell-tops-opening-azerbaijan-practice-car-trouble-sidelines",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-25T02:45:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/motor-sports/2026/09/1540711/russell-tops-opening-azerbaijan-practice-car-trouble-sidelines"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "George Russell led the pace in the opening Formula One practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, setting a time of one minute, 45.387 seconds for the 6km Baku street track. His teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship by 81 points from Russell, experienced car trouble and had to pull over just under half an hour into the session. Russell's time was still good enough to place him fifth after the session, behind Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. Australian Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren, while Oscar Piastri emerged as the sixth-fastest driver. Rookie Arvid Lindblad, filling in for the injured Isack Hadjar on Red Bull, finished seventh. Esteban Ocon of Haas was ninth, and Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto rounded out the top 10 for Audi. Baku's unpredictable circuit, known for safety car interruptions, saw drivers test its limits, but the practice session remained incident-free.",
  "summary": "BAKU: George Russell set the pace for Mercedes in Thursday’s opening Formula One practice session for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix as teammate and runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli parked up with car trouble.",
  "key_points": [
    "George Russell topped Azerbaijan practice with 1:45.387",
    "Kimi Antonelli suffered car trouble after 28 minutes",
    "Arvid Lindblad finished seventh for Red Bull"
  ],
  "editors_take": "George Russell's strong showing in the opening practice session hands him an early advantage, while Kimi Antonelli's car trouble could complicate his championship lead.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}