Formula 1 News: Russell tops final practice for 2024 Azerbaijan GP

Using the powerful Mercedes engine on the long straights of the Baku City Circuit, George Russell turned a lap of 1m42.514s to top final practice for the 2024 Azerbaijan GP.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who is always fast here and topped Practice 2 on Friday, was 2nd quick, 0.013s behind Russell.

Up next were the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, 0.223s and 0.235s behind Russell respectively.

Championship leader Max Verstappen rounded out the top-5, 0.348s behind Russell. The Red Bulls are slow in the final sector, losing up 1/2 second.  Are they running too much downforce, or do they have their engines turned down?

Carlos Sainz Jr. (#55 Ferrari) and Sergio Perez (#11 Red Bull), were 6th and 7th.

Lewis Hamilton, also with his engine turned down, was only 10th quick, a massive 0.787s behind his Mercedes teammate Russell.

The biggest surprise was Franco Colapinto in 9th, less than 0.1s behind his Williams teammate Alex Albon, 0.680s behind Russell.

Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman (crash) failed to set a time in this session.

Plenty of interruptions, two red flags, a host of yellows and very few fully clean laps.

As such, the full pecking order remains a mystery heading into qualifying.

Such was the timing of the yellows, it is hard to know what to make of that session. But yellows and red flags could well come into play in qualifying, so the teams need to prepare for them as much as possible.

Traffic could also be an issue – it might be a long track here, but it is also a narrow one and difficult to get out of the way in the castle section.

2024 Azerbaijan GP Practice 3 Results