Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Practice report
Formula 1 Azerbaijan GP

F1 Azerbaijan GP: Russell shades Leclerc in FP3 as Bearman crashes

Mercedes' George Russell set the pace with a 1m42.514s, 0.013s clear of Charles Leclerc

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

George Russell shaded Charles Leclerc in FP3 for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as McLaren and Mercedes got on terms with Red Bull and Ferrari ahead of qualifying.

Leclerc had showed good progress throughout the session and managed to sit on top of the order after beating an impressive lap from Oscar Piastri later in the session, but the Ferrari driver's lap was beaten by Russell's late 1m42.514s effort.

Russell, whose running on Friday had been interrupted by a series of power unit grumbles, reported that his Mercedes powertrain sounded strange through the corners, and also struggled with the handling balance throughout much of the Saturday practice session.

But after moving ahead of Leclerc, Russell's lap managed to resist the Monegasque's follow-up 1m42.527s effort to lead the way heading into qualifying.

Early on, there were little more than a series of installation laps at the start of the session, with no flying laps completed in the opening 10 minutes as a few light drops of rain were in the air. 

The session then looked to get into its stride but, as Lando Norris had prepared to begin a lap, the session came to a halt as Esteban Ocon's Alpine stopped on track just before the 15-minute mark.

This prompted a delay and, once the Alpine was cleared, the session resumed 10 minutes later. With the early laps among the 1m45s, the times were slower compared to Friday's FP2 session - on fresh soft tyres, Piastri set the benchmark with a 1m45.476.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Max Verstappen found a quarter of a second to move up top spot, but was succeeded by Alex Albon who immediately found a 1m44.371s to get on the pace off the bat.

Leclerc was tracking ahead of Albon during his second attempt, going almost 0.7s up in the opening sector and finding even more time in the second sector. 

This effort was nipped in the bud by another red flag - Oliver Bearman went too deep into Turn 1 and attempted to bail out, but didn't do so quick enough and knocked his left-front wheel against the Tecpro barrier.

A six-minute recovery operation ensured the session could resume with just over 20 minutes on the clock, allowing Norris to set a 1m44.226s to shuffle to the top of the order.

Albon returned the favour, setting a purple middle sector and gathering a tow from Russell to go fastest for all of about five seconds, as Leclerc put in the lap he'd expected prior to Bearman's shunt to set a 1m43.455s.

Sergio Perez collected a 1m43.389s to displace Leclerc from the top of the order, but this was firmly put in the shade by Oscar Piastri's 1m42.749s - a 0.64s advantage to the Australian.

Piastri's time came under threat from Perez and Lewis Hamilton, but Leclerc managed to overturn it by 0.185 seconds - before Russell moved to the top of the pile.

Leclerc remained ahead of the McLarens, as Lando Norris had found a 1m42.737s to get ahead of Piastri, while Verstappen's late attempt at a tow from Perez could not move him above fifth. Carlos Sainz split the Red Bulls, having been heavily baulked by Perez at Turn 15 during the final 10 minutes.

Albon and Franco Colapinto remained in touching distance, as Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10.

F1 Azerbaijan GP - FP3 results

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Driver # Chassis Engine Laps Time Interval km/h
1 United Kingdom G. Russell Mercedes 63 Mercedes Mercedes 15

1'42.514

  210.808
2 Monaco C. Leclerc Ferrari 16 Ferrari Ferrari 17

+0.013

1'42.527

0.013 210.781
3 United Kingdom L. Norris McLaren 4 McLaren Mercedes 15

+0.223

1'42.737

0.210 210.350
4 Australia O. Piastri McLaren 81 McLaren Mercedes 14

+0.235

1'42.749

0.012 210.326
5 Netherlands M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1 Red Bull Red Bull 16

+0.348

1'42.862

0.113 210.095
6 Spain C. Sainz Ferrari 55 Ferrari Ferrari 17

+0.454

1'42.968

0.106 209.878
7 Mexico S. Perez Red Bull Racing 11 Red Bull Red Bull 16

+0.510

1'43.024

0.056 209.764
8 Thailand A. Albon Williams 23 Williams Mercedes 14

+0.680

1'43.194

0.170 209.419
9 Argentina F. Colapinto Williams 43 Williams Mercedes 15

+0.724

1'43.238

0.044 209.329
10 United Kingdom L. Hamilton Mercedes 44 Mercedes Mercedes 13

+0.787

1'43.301

0.063 209.202
11 Spain F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing 14 Aston Martin Mercedes 15

+0.960

1'43.474

0.173 208.852
12 Japan Y. Tsunoda RB 22 RB Red Bull 17

+0.989

1'43.503

0.029 208.793
13 Canada L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing 18 Aston Martin Mercedes 19

+1.057

1'43.571

0.068 208.656
14 Australia D. Ricciardo RB 3 RB Red Bull 18

+1.356

1'43.870

0.299 208.056
15 France P. Gasly Alpine 10 Alpine Renault 15

+1.362

1'43.876

0.006 208.044
16 Germany N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team 27 Haas Ferrari 13

+1.650

1'44.164

0.288 207.468
17 Finland V. Bottas Sauber 77 Sauber Ferrari 18

+1.673

1'44.187

0.023 207.423
18 China Z. Guanyu Sauber 24 Sauber Ferrari 20

+2.355

1'44.869

0.682 206.074
19 France E. Ocon Alpine 31 Alpine Renault 1

 

   
20 United Kingdom O. Bearman Haas F1 Team 50 Haas Ferrari 2

 

   

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Live: F1 Azerbaijan GP updates - FP3
Next article F1 uncovered: A weekend behind the scenes with a team physio

Top Comments

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe