2026 Azerbaijan GP FP3: Verstappen snatches Baku lead from Russell

Max Verstappen ended George Russell’s hopes of sweeping all three Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice sessions, producing a late 1m 43.922s to lead a closely fought FP3 on the streets of Baku.

The Red Bull driver finished just 0.099s ahead of Russell, who had topped both Thursday sessions for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton was only 0.111s away from Verstappen in third, setting up an intriguing contest for pole position later on Friday.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

  2026 Azerbaijan GP FP1: Russell sets the pace in Baku

• 

  2026 Azerbaijan GP FP2: Russell completes Baku practice sweep

• 

  2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

It was a tense final practice hour in which the strengthening wind, dusty circuit and unforgiving barriers repeatedly tested the drivers as they prepared to push for qualifying in the 2026 F1 World Championship.

2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3 Results

2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3, 25th September 2026

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:43.922	21
2	63	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.099s	21
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.111s	18
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.351s	21
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.622s	22
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+0.715s	20
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.824s	20
8	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.977s	20
9	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	+1.254s	22
10	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+1.670s	20
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+1.683s	24
12	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+1.770s	25
13	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.932s	18
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+1.996s	21
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.076s	18
16	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+2.082s	19
17	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	+2.154s	24
18	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+2.300s	23
19	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+2.349s	22
20	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+2.590s	19
21	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+4.665s	19
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+5.357s	9

As has often been the case this season, there was little urgency to leave the garages when the session began. High winds had blown dust and leaves across the Baku City Circuit, leaving teams reluctant to waste tyres on a dirty and unrepresentative surface.

The leading contenders did not emerge on Pirelli’s soft compound until approximately 20 minutes had elapsed. Hamilton established an early reference of 1m 46.168s, only for Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc to move ahead with a 1m 45.564s on his second flying lap.

Kimi Antonelli and Russell entered the order in third and fourth after their first representative attempts, although both Mercedes drivers began their programmes on the yellow-walled medium tyre rather than the softs used by the Ferraris.

Verstappen briefly took first place after picking up a double slipstream through Baku’s flat-out final sector. Hamilton soon reclaimed the advantage, lowering the benchmark to a 1m 45.093s as the session approached its halfway point.

Wind remained one of the defining factors throughout the hour. Antonelli and Verstappen were among several drivers to report its effect, with the Red Bull driver telling his team that the “car is very numb in Turn 16”.

Antonelli nevertheless found enough confidence to put Mercedes back on top, setting a 1m 45.046s on the medium compound. Russell then raised the pace further with a 1m 44.715s as the circuit continued to improve.

The increasingly committed laps brought a succession of mistakes. Hamilton ran into the escape road at Turn 1, Antonelli went off at Turn 4 and Verstappen used the run-off at Turn 15. All three were able to rejoin without damage.

Lance Stroll was less fortunate. The Aston Martin driver glanced the inside wall at Turn 1, damaging a wheel and bringing his session to an early conclusion. Stroll managed to pull off behind the barrier, allowing the session to continue without a lengthy interruption.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, Mercedes switched both Russell and Antonelli onto the soft tyre for their decisive qualifying simulations.

Russell immediately set a 1m 44.177s, opening an advantage of approximately six tenths over Antonelli following their first soft-tyre attempts. The Briton then improved again to a 1m 44.021s, maintaining a two-tenth cushion over his team-mate.

Verstappen inserted himself between the Mercedes pair with a committed lap on which he brushed the walls several times, offering a clear demonstration of how narrow the margin had become as qualifying approached.

Russell then came even closer to paying for the risk. The Mercedes driver went straight on at Turn 7 and narrowly avoided a head-on impact with the barrier, while Antonelli ran deep into the Turn 1 escape road during his own attempt.

Neither Mercedes driver found another improvement in the closing minutes. Verstappen did, putting together a 1m 43.922s to seize first place and remain there when the chequered flag fell.

Russell’s earlier time was enough for second, only 0.099s behind, while Hamilton completed the top three and finished a mere 0.012s further back. Antonelli took fourth, 0.351s off the pace, as Leclerc ended FP3 fifth and 0.622s away from Verstappen.

Pierre Gasly delivered another encouraging result for Alpine in sixth. Oscar Piastri led McLaren’s challenge in seventh, with team-mate Lando Norris eighth after the team’s disrupted Thursday running.

Isack Hadjar placed ninth for Red Bull as he continued his comeback weekend following a three-race absence with a wrist injury. Franco Colapinto put the second Alpine into 10th, giving the team two cars inside the top 10.

Carlos Sainz was 11th for Williams, followed by Haas driver Ollie Bearman in 12th and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto in 13th. Esteban Ocon took 14th in the second Haas, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi.

Sergio Perez placed his Cadillac 16th, with Alex Albon’s Williams in 17th. Racing Bulls occupied the next two positions through Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, the latter returning to the track after his heavy FP2 crash at the Turn 8-9 castle section.

Fernando Alonso was 20th for Aston Martin, followed by Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas. Stroll completed the 22-car order after his contact with the Turn 1 wall ended his running prematurely.

Verstappen’s late lap prevented Russell from completing a perfect practice record, but the tiny gaps at the front offered no guarantee about the qualifying hierarchy. Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari all placed a driver within 0.111s of the fastest time, while the wind and Baku’s walls ensured that outright pace would be only part of the challenge when the fight for pole began.