FP3 at the Baku GP saw McLaren set the early pace while Ferrari showed strong potential for pole

The final FP3 session of the Baku Grand Prix has just concluded. Let’s recap the most important moments and reveal the results from the last practice session. Teams had to deal with tricky weather conditions due to increasing wind on the city circuit.

Green light

The drivers waited a long time before hitting the track to start preparing for qualifying. Liam Lawson was the first to take to the circuit for FP3, followed by Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar. They completed just a few laps before returning immediately to the pits. About 15 minutes in, Lando Norris set out for his first flying laps on red tires.

The Ferrari drivers chose to wait a little longer, as the track was still very dirty after the wind and overnight rain. Once on track, Oscar Piastri set the fastest time with a 1:44.817. At least at the start, the wind heavily influenced performance. Early strong runs came from Bearman, Yuki Tsunoda, and Alex Albon. Haas driver #87, running on hard tires, managed to take the top spot with a 1:44.450, 37 minutes before the session ended.

Lewis Hamilton and several others complained about the tailwind. Charles Leclerc, despite some mistakes caused by the wind, set a provisional fastest lap of 1:43.048, almost four tenths ahead of Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton, battling the wind, managed to improve on his teammate’s time by 60 thousandths of a second.

Final 30 minutes

Piastri began setting the pace, taking first position ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, with constant position changes throughout the session. Charles Leclerc improved in the third sector to stop the clock at 1:42.354. Max Verstappen closed in on the Monegasque, moving into second place but still two tenths off the leader.

Mercedes, 20 minutes from the end, were still struggling to find their rhythm. Antonelli, after eight laps, could only manage tenth, while George Russell remained twelfth after seven laps. Verstappen, benefiting from a tow, went six tenths faster than Leclerc. Lawson spun in turn 16 but fortunately avoided any consequences.

With fresh red tires, Alex Albon completed a flying lap to rise into second position behind Verstappen. Lando Norris, also on new rubber, improved to set the fastest lap, beating Lewis Hamilton’s FP2 time from yesterday. Traffic, in addition to the wind, remains a major unknown heading into qualifying. In the final laps of qualifying simulations, all drivers managed to improve their times.

Here are the final results from Baku FP3:

1 Lando Norris (McLaren) 1m41.223s
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.222s
3 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.254s
4 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.276s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.653s
6 George Russell (Mercedes) +0.741s
7 Alex Albon (Williams) +0.760s
8 Ollie Bearman (Haas) +0.762s
9 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.923s
10 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.986s
11 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.044s
12 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) +1.205s
13 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.263s
14 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.368s
15 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1.566s
16 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) +1.617s
17 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +1.645s
18 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.837s
19 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +2.099s
20 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +2.127s