Max Verstappen topped FP3 at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP, denying George Russell a clean sweep of the practice sessions before Qualifying in Baku.
The final practice session began quietly, with no immediate movement when the pit lane opened. Conditions had changed from Thursday’s running, with the track temperature at 42 degrees Celsius and stronger winds blowing around the Baku City Circuit.
Gasly heads out first
Pierre Gasly became the first driver to head out, starting his session on the medium tyres before Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto joined him on the same compound.
Alpine had kept a low profile in FP1 but looked more competitive in FP2, adding another layer to a tight midfield fight that also included Racing Bulls, Haas and Audi.
Nearly 10 minutes passed before more drivers joined the session. Arvid Lindblad returned to the track for the first time since his FP2 crash, heading out on softs alongside Racing Bulls teammate Liam Lawson. Valtteri Bottas also ran softs, while Oliver Bearman used a scrubbed soft set after losing his FP2 run to an engine issue.
Williams sent Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz out on mediums as the team continued to evaluate its long-awaited upgrade package, including a new lighter chassis. Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren soon joined the action, with Kimi Antonelli, Russell, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri choosing mediums, while Lando Norris briefly appeared on new softs before returning to the pits at the end of his out-lap.
Ferrari move to the front
Ferrari opted for soft tyres with both cars, and Lewis Hamilton moved to the top after two warm-up laps with a 1:46.168.
Charles Leclerc then responded with purple sectors through the first two parts of the lap. The Monégasque driver, a four-time polesitter in Baku, beat Hamilton by six tenths to take over at the top.
Mercedes initially slotted into third and fourth on mediums, with Antonelli ahead of Russell. However, as the racing line cleaned up, the times began to fall. Hamilton later improved to a 1:45.093, putting himself two tenths clear of Leclerc, with Verstappen, Russell and Piastri behind.
Stroll stops after wall contact
Aston Martin’s session took a hit when Lance Stroll parked up and climbed out of the car. The Canadian had clipped the wall and initially reported a possible puncture, but the length of the Baku lap meant he had to stop rather than limp back to the pits.
Both Aston Martin drivers already faced grid penalties for the race after taking new power unit components, leaving the team with another difficult moment before Qualifying.
Elsewhere, Hamilton locked up, Verstappen ran into the escape road, and Russell later took over at the top on medium tyres. The Mercedes driver beat Leclerc’s soft-tyre time by around a tenth and a half, moving ahead of Antonelli and Hamilton.
Verstappen denies Russell at the end
A brief Virtual Safety Car interrupted the session when a marshal had to retrieve a branch from the track, but Mercedes avoided losing out as both drivers were still on warm-up laps.
When running resumed, Verstappen pushed hard and moved to second, just 0.141s behind Russell after brushing close to the barriers. Piastri also brought McLaren into the mix, while Leclerc, Norris and Hamilton continued to shuffle the order behind the leading Mercedes.
Russell kept pushing but locked up at Turn 7 and nearly hit the barriers. He reversed out without damage and continued, but Verstappen then found the time he needed to move ahead.
As the chequered flag fell, Verstappen stayed fastest with a 1:43.922, preventing Russell from completing a practice sweep ahead of Qualifying.
Russell finished second, just 0.099s behind Verstappen, with Hamilton third for Ferrari. Antonelli took fourth ahead of Leclerc, Gasly, Piastri, Norris, Hadjar and Colapinto, who completed the top ten.
2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP FP3 results
