F1 Azerbaijan GP: Sergio Perez on top in final practice
11th June 2022Red Bull’s Sergio Perez went top of the timing sheets in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
How practice unfolded…
There was a slight delay to the start of Free Practice 3 as the track marshals had to repair the barrier, at turn one, due to an incident in the Formula 2 sprint race.
Once the pit exit light went green, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was the first driver to venture out onto the Baku City Circuit. However, after 10 minutes, no one had set a lap time on the board.
With 46 minutes left on the clock, Mercedes’ George Russell set the initial lap on the board with a 1:47.256. This was soon beaten by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, the latter on top with a 1:45.260 lap straight out of the gate.
When the session neared its halfway mark, Leclerc was finally toppled from the top spot on the timing sheet after Red Bull’s Sergio Perez went to P1 with a 1:44.416.
The Mexican’s time was two-tenths quicker than Ferrari’s Monegasque. However, this time was nearly beaten by the his teammate, Max Verstappen, who went up to P2 on his first flying lap, five-hundredths of Perez’s best time.
Leclerc soon went back up to P1, with just over 31 minutes to go, after he put in a blistering 1:43.514 lap. The Monegasque’s lap was nearly one second quicker than both Red Bull’s, in P3 and P4, and four-tenths quicker than Sainz, in P2.
It wasn’t long before both Red Bull’s retaliated to the Monegasque’s time as Verstappen went P2, Perez: P3, with less than 25 minutes left to go in the session. Compared between Leclerc (P1) and Perez (P3) only 0.372 seconds separated the top three drivers.
With just over 10 minutes left on the clock, Verstappen was forced to back out of his flying lap due to the stranded Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn was in the run-off area, at turn three, for some time as his car struggled to find the reverse gear. Fortunately, he was able to get his car out of the narrow space and back onto the track.
While Leclerc’s time looked to be a hard time to beat, Perez managed to pip the Monegasque to the top spot with a 1:43.170 – seven-hundredths of a second clear of the Ferrari Monegasque.
Top three:
- Sergio Perez, Red Bull (1:43.170
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (+0.070)
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull (+0.279)
That’s it for the article: F1 Azerbaijan GP: Charles Leclerc goes top in final practice! Who do you think will secure pole position in Qualifying? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula One here!
- F1 Azerbaijan GP: Charles Leclerc stands on top in FP2
- F1 Azerbaijan GP: Sergio Perez tops first practice in Baku
- F1 Azerbaijan GP Preview
- Five shocking moments from F1 Azerbaijan GP
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
