George Russell goes quickest with a 1:42.514 for Mercedes after a disrupted FP3 session at the 2024 Azerbaijan GP. He was followed by Charles Leclerc with a 1:42.527 for Ferrari and Lando Norris with a 1:42.737 for McLaren.
[adrotate banner=”10″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.
Green Light
The green light marked the beginning of the final practice session of the weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Sergio Pérez was the first to start his exploratory laps, closely followed by the Sauber’s of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu and Championship leader Max Verstappen.
There were early reports from Pérez that the track felt slightly damp, the outcome of some rain overnight.
Quiet On Track
Five minutes into the session, many of the early runners had already been wheeled back into their garages, with the other drivers only just getting into their cars.
The Aston Martin cars of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were seemingly the only ones on track, along with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo for RB.
Championship contender Lando Norris eventually left the pit lane, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri, as well as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz for Ferrari.
Although Leclerc found the wall in FP1, the driver topped the timings in Friday’s FP2 with a 1:43.484, followed by Pérez and Lewis Hamilton.
Red Flag
With 45 minutes to go, the red flag was waved, with the Alpine of Esteban Ocon stopping close to the start-finish straight.
He quickly reported that he had a problem and couldn’t make it back to the pit lane.
Ocon had to have a precautionary PU change yesterday after an MGU-H issue was detected, causing the driver to miss nearly all of FP1.
Teammate Pierre Gasly also suffered a battery issue yesterday, with this weekend already proving a tough one for Alpine.
With 37 minutes left of the session, the session was still under red flag conditions.
However, many of the drivers started queuing at the pit lane exit to ensure a beneficial track position for when the session was resumed.
Session Resumed
With 36 minutes of the session left, the session was resumed.
Piastri was the first out on track, with the driver quickly reporting some light drops of rain.
Timed laps were finally starting to be set, with Verstappen going into Pole with a 1:45.209. He was closely followed by Sainz who was +0.069s behind and his teammate Pérez who was +0.144s behind.
Alex Albon tumbled to the top of the timings with a 1:44.371, followed by his rookie teammate Franco Colapinto who was +0.815s slower.
Second Red Flag
With 28 minutes to go, the red flag was waved once again.
It was the Haas of Oliver Bearman who had found the barriers in the run-off area, with considerable damage to his front left.
With a permanent seat with Haas from 2025, Bearman has replaced Kevin Magnussen this weekend after the driver received a one-race ban after reaching the 12-point penalty point limit in a 12-month period.
The driver sounded understandably frustrated after not bailing out early enough but also not committing to make the corner either.
Session Resumed
With 22 minutes to go, the session was resumed one again.
Norris went to the top of the timings with a 1:44.226, after finally having the opportunity to set his first timed lap. He was quickly displaced by Albon and Leclerc who went to Pole with a 1:43.455.
Verstappen set a purple S2 however it was only quick enough for third, with teammate Pérez going Pole with a 1:43.389.
It seems as though Red Bull have refound some of their form this weekend after having a less-than-dominant couple of weekends.
Piastri quickly reclaimed McLaren’s recent dominance, displacing Pérez with a 1:42.749.
Ten Minutes To Go…
With ten minutes to go, the yellow flag was prominent, with George Russell and Gasly both finding the run-off area.
Leclerc topped the timings once again with a 1:42.564 for Ferrari. The driver has three Pole positions around this track, yet this has never been converted to a race win.
Norris made it a McLaren 2-3 with a 1:42.737, although Russell went quickest of all shortly after with a 1:42.514.
With just over a minute to go, the yellow flag was waved once again after Hulkenberg found the escape road at Turn 3.
After a disrupted FP3 session, George Russell goes quickest with a 1:42.514 for Mercedes. He was followed by Charles Leclerc with a 1:42.527 for Ferrari and Lando Norris with a 1:42.737 for McLaren.
Featured Image Credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
[adrotate banner=”10″]
Get 10% off all official F1 Merch at TheRaceWorks.com using code ‘EF1‘ at checkout.