Max Verstappen tops final Azerbaijan GP practice ahead of Russell and Hamilton

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the final hour of practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, pipping the Mercedes of George Russell and Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. 

Feature image credit: Courtesy of Pirelli 

Formula 1 returned to the Baku City Circuit on Friday for the final hour of practice, due to the adjusted schedule of the Azerbaijan GP race schedule, with Verstappen going fastest overall for the first time this weekend. 

The four-time world champion found himself 0.099 seconds faster than his closest rival, with a lap time of 1m 43.922s, beating Russell and Hamilton, who completed the top three in second and third, respectively. A total of 0.111 seconds separated the top three drivers.

However, it was not an easy session for the Red Bull claimed his car jumped around like a ‘kangaroo’ during the session.

Verstappen’s fastest lap brings an end to Russell’s dominant form around Baku, so far this weekend, after the Briton swept Friday with fastest laps in both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2. 

Russell pips Antonelli to fastest lap in Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP2

In typical fashion of FP3, when the pit exit light turned green, no one was eager to head out onto the track. It took over three minutes before a car ventured out onto the circuit, in the form of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, who pulled out with the medium tyres. 

As the rest of the field started to drip out onto the circuit, there was a mix of soft and medium compound tyres for the opening stints of FP3. That was until the drivers returned to the track, nearer the end, for soft-tyre performance runs. 

On his opening lap, within the 15 minute mark, McLaren’s Lando Norris was told to avoid high-speed and instructed to pit ‘to change something.’ However, the Briton sat in the pit lane while the team checked out the car before being allowed back onto the circuit. 

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set the benchmark pace early on with a 1m 46.168s. However his teammate, Charles Leclerc quickly beat the seven-time world champion’s time, going 0.604s faster. But there was still time left on the board, as the initial times were not close to the best time set by Russell on Friday, 1m 43.347s, in FP2.

George Russell tops opening hour of Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice

However, Russell returned to the top of the timing sheets with the fastest lap of the session, equipped with the medium tyres, pipping Leclerc on the soft compounds. 

At the half-way point of the session, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll stopped out on track at turn four. His retirement from the session came after the Canadian clipped the apex wall at turn one, damaging his front left tyre. 

In the last 15 minutes, Mercedes locked out the top two positions with Russell heading Antonelli, continuing to set the pace in Baku. However, Verstappen spoiled the uniformity of the teams position, picking up a significant tow down the pit straight to go just over a tenth behind Russell.

Hamilton, on his own final lap, benefitted from a three-car tow down the longest straight to jump up the standing order to go third fastest overall.  

FP3 Classification: 

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing – 1m 43.922s
2. George Russell, Mercedes +0.099s
3. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +0.111s
4. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +0.351s
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.622s
6. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +0.715s
7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.824s
8. Lando Norris, McLaren +0.977s
9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +1.254s
10. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +1.670s
11. Carlos Sainz, Williams +1.683s
12. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.770s
13. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +1.932s
14. Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.996s
15. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +2.076s
16. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +2.082s
17. Alexander Albon, Williams +2.154s
18. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +2.300
19. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +2.349s
20. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +2.590s
21. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +4.665s
22. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +5.357s

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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.

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.