Azerbaijan GP FP3: Norris shrugs off Baku breeze to lead Verstappen as qualifying looms
Lando Norris kept his powder dry and then lit up Baku when it mattered, topping final practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix ahead of Max Verstappen by 0.222s. Oscar Piastri made it two McLarens in the top three, with Lewis Hamilton muscling his way to fourth late on after a scruffy session for plenty of big names.
It was one of those Baku mornings where the wind does the talking. Gusts nudged 25 km/h and the field collectively decided they weren’t in a rush to dance with the walls. Five minutes in, a cautious trickle of cars rolled out and Isack Hadjar immediately called it as he felt it: “The wind is pushing me a lot to the right on the straight.”
Oliver Bearman broke the stalemate with the first representative time, a 1:47.333, admitting it was “challenging with this wind.” Norris briefly slotted behind him still searching for a balance, grumbling that the car felt “worse” corner after corner. Piastri then put McLaren on top, the tone set for a session that would swing wildly as the track rubbered in and the gusts came and went.
From there, the times tumbled. Norris pumped in a 1:43.640 to lead by a healthy margin as others found their feet: Kimi Antonelli showed well, Liam Lawson wasn’t far behind, and Charles Leclerc stitched together a flyer until an ugly wide moment blew the lap apart. Hamilton, meanwhile, had to bail down an escape road and executed the kind of old-school handbrake turn that makes Baku Baku.
The walls were busy. Pierre Gasly clipped the inside at Turn 6 and got away with it, Gabriel Bortoleto skated wide at Turn 3, and Lawson looped it in a neat 360. Leclerc brushed the wall and immediately asked Ferrari to take a look at the suspension. There was speed out there; there was also jeopardy.
Verstappen, typically unbothered by the ebb and flow, finally lit the wick and returned to the top with a 1:41.727. For a while, that looked like that. But the final 10 minutes flipped the order again. Norris found half a second to jump clear, the McLaren properly switched on in the low-speed stuff, and while Verstappen improved, he couldn’t quite close the deal. Piastri crept closer too but stayed third.
Hamilton mounted a late push to split the McLarens briefly before settling into fourth, 0.276s off. George Russell wasn’t loving life, reporting he was locking up “everywhere,” while Alex Albon added his own weather update as he ran long at Turn 4: “The wind is picking up a lot.”
Among the rookies and newer faces, Antonelli stayed in the mix through most of the hour, Lawson recovered from his spin with decent pace, and Bearman’s early benchmark turned into a solid session’s work given the conditions. One note for the stewards: Franco Colapinto was flagged for a yellow-flag infringement and will have a chat after the session.
So, what did we learn? McLaren’s car looks sweet through the castle section and the braking zones, and Norris has a rhythm around here that’s both calm and sharp. Verstappen’s there — as he always is — with margin to play with before qualifying. Piastri’s close enough to make this a proper three-way. Hamilton’s lurking, as is his way on Saturdays, even if the lap wasn’t fully tidied up.
Baku rewards patience and punishes optimism. FP3 suggested the wind might be the biggest rival of all this afternoon. But on raw pace and confidence, Norris heads into qualifying as the one to beat.
Top of the times in FP3
1) Lando Norris
2) Max Verstappen +0.222s
3) Oscar Piastri
4) Lewis Hamilton
Noted: Franco Colapinto — alleged yellow-flag infringement, referred to stewards.
