Max Verstappen surprisingly set the fastest time in the third and final practice session for Formula 1's Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver utilized a massive slipstream on Baku's long straight to beat George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.
In the one-hour session, Verstappen only took the top spot at the very end as teams switched to qualifying simulations. Mercedes, who were ominously quick on Thursday, had to settle for Russell and Hamilton behind him.
FP3, held in less representative conditions than qualifying later on Friday, got off to a quiet start. Alpine led the early running, but the big-hitters began to show their pace 15 minutes in. Charles Leclerc set a 1m45.564s before being demoted by his Ferrari teammate Hamilton.
Verstappen then surged to first place, but Hamilton responded with a 1m45.093s. Conditions were gustier than on Friday, and race control briefly deployed a virtual safety car for a tree branch blown onto the track. Verstappen reported his car was "jumping like a kangaroo" before going deep into the Turn 15 runoff.
Lance Stroll of Aston Martin was less fortunate, tagging the wall at Turn 1 and damaging his front-left suspension, forcing him to stop. Meanwhile, Mercedes began to show their true pace in the middle of the session. Andrea Kimi Antonelli briefly edged Leclerc before Russell took over at the top on medium tyres.
Russell then set a 1m44.177s on softs and improved to a 1m44.021s. Verstappen, benefiting from a huge slipstream, split the Mercedes cars and ultimately set a 1m43.922s to end the session on top. Russell could have gone quicker but locked up into Turn 1 and ran wide at Turn 7.
In the closing moments, Hamilton pipped Antonelli for third, followed by Leclerc and Alpine's Pierre Gasly. Meanwhile, McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris had to settle for seventh and eighth. This result is a positive signal for Red Bull ahead of qualifying on Friday afternoon local time.
Baca Juga
F1 GP Azerbaijan 2026: George Russell tercepat di FP3 Baku, ungguli Verstappen 99 milidetik. Simak persaingan pole position dan hasil latihan bebas ketiga.
Max Verstappen akhirnya memuncaki FP3 F1 Azerbaijan 2026, ungguli George Russell. Simak hasil lengkap dan analisis persaingan jelang kualifikasi.
Max Verstappen menjadi tercepat di FP3 F1 Azerbaijan 2026, mengalahkan George Russell. Simak hasil lengkap dan analisis persaingan menuju kualifikasi.
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