Azerbaijan GP: Russell edges Leclerc in tight final practice

George Russell set the fastest time in Saturday’s final practice at the Azerbaijan GP, the Mercedes driver edging Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by just 0.013s.

The session was closely disputed by F1’s usual suspects, but incidents and red flags were once again the norm, with Haas rookie Ollie Bearman ending his session in the barrier.

Behind FP3’s leading duo, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were well placed just behind, while Max Verstappen completed the top five. But Williams’ performance garnered a lot of attention with Alex Albon and especially Franco Colapinto concluding final practice among the top ten.

• Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results

Compared to Friday, temperatures were down and winds were up when the track went green, with a risk of rain also lingering, which led to only a handful of cars heading out at the start of the session.

However, Perez and Verstappen were among the early takers although the Red Bull pair, who were looking quite competitive on Friday, only completed a single exploratory lap.

Fifteen minutes in, the action remained subdued before the session grounded to a halt when a red flag was deployed when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine stopped out on the track, prolonging the Enstone squad’s so far troubled weekend in Baku.

After a ten-minute pause, the session resumed and a larger contingent of cars kicked into gear.

Verstappen set the first significant flyer, but the Dutchman was quickly outdone by the Williams duo of Albon and Colapinto which surprisingly popped to the top, perhaps as a result of ‘turning up the wick’ on the FW46.

But more disruption ensued when Ollie Bearman, on his first timed effort, carried too much speed into Turn 1 but bailed too late, smashing the barrier and heavily damaging the Haas’ left front suspension and front wing.

The incident cost everyone more time as marshals engaged in recovering the stricken Haas. Again, the session resumed, with a little over 20 minutes left on the clock.

With only five laps under his belt, Norris was back out immediately to finally get a flyer on the board, an effort that set a new benchmark in the session as the McLaren charger went top.

But Leclerc, the increasingly strong looking Albon and Sainz promptly pushed Norris down the order. As the action ramped up and grip levels improved, rotations at the top were fast and furious, with Perez and then Piastri taking the lead during their qualifying sims.

Over at Mercedes, Russell’s run on a fresh set of softs ended with a trip down the escape road at Turn 2, while Hamilton’s pace carried him to P2.

But a lively Leclerc recouped the top spot with five minutes left on the clock, while Norris slotted into second, ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

However, the Monegasque’s commanding position was short lived, with Russell snatching P1 with 90 seconds to go.

The Briton had the last word, beating Leclerc by just 0.013s, with Norris, Piastri and Verstappen completing the top five, with 0.348s separating the first five cars.

Sainz and Perez followed in the pecking order but Albon and especially Colapinto’s presence among the top ten was a welcome sight for Williams.

As Hamilton rounded off the top ten, the takeaway from the final dress rehearsal was that it’s all to close to call ahead of qualifying, with all four of F1’s top teams and anyone of their drivers genuine contenders for pole.

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