George Russell put Mercedes on top during the third and final practice session for the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris. The session was interrupted by several red flags, including one caused by a crash involving Ollie Bearman.
After enjoying bright and warm conditions in FP1 and FP2, drivers faced overcast skies and light drizzle ahead of FP3, which added to the already tricky grip situation on the dusty and slippery Baku City Circuit.
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Despite the weather, drivers still opted for slick tyres when the pit lane opened, though they were cautious as they got up to speed. Two-time Azerbaijan GP winner Sergio Perez noted that the track felt “a little bit damp,” but the drop in wind levels overnight was a positive factor.
The session started relatively quietly as drivers waited for track conditions to improve. However, the drama soon began when Esteban Ocon’s Alpine encountered an issue, bringing the car to a stop in the final sector.
Ocon, who had a challenging Friday due to a power unit change between sessions, expressed frustration over the radio, saying, “I don’t think I can make it” to the pits before ultimately pulling over. This prompted Race Control to issue a red flag, given the narrow layout of the circuit.
Once the session resumed—despite light rain continuing to fall—drivers began setting their first lap times of the day. Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto briefly led a Williams one-two, ahead of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
As more laps were completed, Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg slotted in between the Williams duo. Meanwhile, Ferrari drivers Sainz and Charles Leclerc were looking poised to improve their times when Haas rookie Ollie Bearman misjudged Turn 1, crashing into the barriers and triggering another red flag.
Bearman, a second-year Formula 2 driver, had carried too much speed into the corner and tried to take the escape road, but ended up tearing off his front-left wheel. On the radio, he expressed his frustration, swearing and apologizing repeatedly, saying, “I’m such an idiot” and “I’m so sorry.”
With around 20 minutes left, the session resumed, and drivers switched to soft tyres. Piastri topped the timesheets with an impressive lap of 1m 42.749s, putting him more than half a second ahead of Sergio Perez and FP2 leader Leclerc.
Leclerc wasn’t done yet, navigating through yellow flag zones to set a new fastest lap of 1m 42.564s, while Lando Norris moved into second, pushing Piastri to third. Verstappen slotted into fourth, and George Russell improved to fifth despite struggling with power unit and balance issues.
In the final moments, Russell surged to the top with a time of 1m 42.514s, just a few hundredths quicker than Leclerc, who also slightly improved. The McLarens were demoted to third and fourth, while Verstappen rounded out the top five as the leading Red Bull driver. Sainz and Perez followed, with Perez involved in a late-session incident after appearing to hinder Sainz at Turn 15.
Williams drivers Albon and Colapinto impressed with eighth and ninth positions, while Lewis Hamilton finished 10th in the other Mercedes. Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 14, with the remaining Alpine and Haas cars of Pierre Gasly and Hulkenberg just behind.
The Alfa Romeo pair, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, ended the session in 17th and 18th, ahead of the sidelined Ocon and Bearman.
Azerbaijan GP FP3 Results
2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3, 14 September 2024
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:42.514 | 15 | |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:42.527 | +0.013s | 16 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 1:42.737 | +0.223s | 14 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 1:42.749 | +0.235s | 13 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:42.862 | +0.348s | 15 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:42.968 | +0.454s | 16 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 1:43.024 | +0.510s | 15 |
| 8 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 1:43.194 | +0.680s | 13 |
| 9 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams Mercedes | 1:43.238 | +0.724s | 14 |
| 10 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.301 | +0.787s | 13 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:43.474 | +0.960s | 15 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 1:43.503 | +0.989s | 16 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 1:43.571 | +1.057s | 18 |
| 14 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 1:43.870 | +1.356s | 17 |
| 15 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 1:43.876 | +1.362s | 14 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 1:44.164 | +1.650s | 12 |
| 17 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:44.187 | +1.673s | 17 |
| 18 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 1:44.869 | +2.355s | 19 |
| 19 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1 | ||
| 20 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 2 |
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