2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Friday

Allan McNish, Racing Director: "No disguising a difficult session for us today. Both final runs were compromised with yellow flags towards the end of the session, but we simply did not unlock the pace over a single lap in these windy conditions. We know the underlying package of the R26 is strong, so with a high chance of mid-race incidents we’ll analyse the data overnight and come back with plenty of hope for the race itself."

Nico Hulkenberg (Car 27):
FP3: 15^th / 1:45.998 (18 laps)
Q1: 18^th / 1:45.920 (10 laps)

“Today’s result is obviously disappointing, as I feel we were more competitive than the final classification suggests. On the first run, we missed the tow, which makes a big difference around here. Then, on my final lap, I was caught by a yellow flag at Turn 15 and again had no tow down the long straight. We were also lacking some straight-line speed, which makes things particularly difficult at this circuit. There is naturally still more for us to learn about the upgrades as we work to understand and optimise the package. Starting from the back is never easy, but this is Baku and opportunities can arise, so we need to stay sharp and be ready to take them.”

Gabriel Bortoleto (Car 5):
FP3: 13^th / 1:45.854 (18 laps)
Q1: 17^th / 1:45.799 (10 laps)

“Of course, this is not the Qualifying result we wanted to walk away with today. The first two runs I did seemed pretty decent; on the last run, though, I just couldn't find any grip, and a yellow flag at the end of my final push lap also forced me to lift. We probably left something out there, but I reckon it would have been tough to advance much today anyway.

“Overall, it's been a quite challenging weekend for us so far. Some laps feel like the grip is there, and others feel like we're struggling with it. We have been lacking some pace throughout sessions, so we need to analyse everything and understand what hasn't gone right, take that onboard and try again tomorrow.”