Max Verstappen stole the spotlight in the third practice session (FP3) for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday local time. The Red Bull driver emerged as the fastest, beating George Russell of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari on the challenging Baku street circuit.
Verstappen took control at the very end of the one-hour session as teams switched to qualifying runs. He capitalized on a big slipstream on the 2km straight to set a time of 1m43.922s, defying Mercedes' favorite status in Baku.
Ferrari showed pace early on. Charles Leclerc led with a 1m45.564s before being deposed by his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who clocked 1m45.093s. Mercedes then responded. Andrea Kimi Antonelli briefly took top spot with a 1m45.046s, before Russell claimed first with a 1m44.715s on medium tyres. Neither used softs at that point.
In the final 15 minutes, Mercedes finally unleashed their secret weapon: soft tyres. Russell immediately posted a 1m44.177s, then improved to 1m44.021s. Antonelli was 0.252s adrift of his teammate. However, Verstappen, using a massive slipstream, split the Mercedes cars and ultimately set the fastest time.
Russell could have been quicker but locked up into Turn 1 and ran wide at Turn 7, though he managed to stop the car without hitting the wall. Meanwhile, Hamilton's last-minute effort pipped Antonelli for third, followed by Leclerc and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. McLaren's low-key weekend continued with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in seventh and eighth.
The session also saw incidents. Lance Stroll of Aston Martin hit the wall at Turn 1 and had to stop his car. Gusty winds made cars unpredictable; Verstappen reported his Red Bull was "jumping like a kangaroo" before going deep at Turn 15. Race control briefly deployed a virtual safety car due to a tree branch on track.
The FP3 results signal that the battle in Baku will be tight. Mercedes, impressive in FP2, had to acknowledge Verstappen's clever use of slipstream. Qualifying later is predicted to be fierce, with slipstream strategy being key.
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