Max Verstappen topped a frantic final practice at the Azerbaijan GP, snatching the fastest time late on to deny George Russell a clean sweep of practice sessions. The Red Bull driver edged out Mercedes by less than a tenth ahead of what promises to be a tight qualifying battle.
Yesterday, George Russell set the pace at the Baku City Circuit, leading a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli in an action-packed FP2 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The chaotic, incident-filled session saw Max Verstappen finish third, while a wall strike from Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad and a power unit failure for Haas’s Oliver Bearman triggered disruptions across the field.
Final practice before Qualifying at the Azerbaijan GP went green
Pierre Gasly kicked off final practice by heading out onto a dusty Baku street circuit on medium tyres, clearing the racing line before former teammate Esteban Ocon joined the action.
Shortly after, Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz hit the track on mediums to evaluate a major, lightweight chassis upgrade package for Williams.
Meanwhile, Arvid Lindblad returned following his FP2 crash, joining RB teammate Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman, and Valtteri Bottas on soft compound rubber.
Early running saw McLaren split their strategy, bringing Lando Norris straight back into the pits after a single out-lap on softs.
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc set the initial benchmark, logging a lap six tenths faster than Lewis Hamilton to top the sheets.
Strong, inconsistent wind gusts complicated the Turn 1 braking zone as drivers caught their first taste of the changing conditions.
Red Bull countered by fitting a skinnier rear wing to gain top speed down the long straight.
On medium tyres, Kimi Antonelli slotted into third behind Leclerc, with Mercedes teammate George Russell trailing in fourth.
As the circuit rubbered in and grip levels increased, lap times dropped drastically.
Hamilton surged to the top of the standings with a 1m 45.093s, pulling two tenths clear of Russell.
Max Verstappen moved into third, leading Russell and Oscar Piastri.
Tricky conditions at Turn 2 caused chaos late in the session, with heavy bumps and a late braking point leading to bottoming out.
Hamilton locked up into the corner, while Verstappen ran wide into the run-off area.
Lance Stroll caused more disruption after clipping the wall and suffering a punctured tire, forcing the Aston Martin driver to park up on track rather than limp back to the garage.
More small interruptions and finding the edge
George Russell made the initial running on medium tyres, setting the pace by a tenth and a half over Charles Leclerc’s soft-tyre benchmark, with Kimi Antonelli slotting into third and Lewis Hamilton fourth.
Action briefly paused when marshals triggered a short Virtual Safety Car to retrieve a tree branch from the track.
The stoppage did not disrupt Mercedes, with both drivers staying out on double warm-up laps on soft C5 rubber.
Once the session resumed, Russell immediately set a blistering 1m 44.177s, stretching a six-tenth advantage over teammate Antonelli.
Antonelli trimmed that gap to two-and-a-half tenths shortly after. McLaren also showed improved form as Oscar Piastri edged closer to Leclerc.
Max Verstappen then ignited the top of the leaderboards, first jumping to second within 0.141s of the lead, before brushing the barriers on a subsequent push lap to go fastest by 0.099s over Russell.
Behind him, Isack Hadjar navigated heavy traffic to hold eighth position.
As the chequered flag fell, late improvements reshuffled the lower top-ten order.
Hamilton surged to third, Pierre Gasly jumped to fifth, and Franco Colapinto secured tenth.
However, Verstappen’s late effort stood at the top, denying Russell a clean sweep of the Azerbaijan GP practice sessions.
READ MORE – F1 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – FP3 Results
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