by VALERIO BARRETTA
F1 Baku, FP3 standings
| Pos. | Pilot | Team | Time and mix | Detachment | Turns |
| 1 | G.Russell | Mercedes | 1:42.514 (S) | – | 15 |
| 2 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:42.527 (S) | +0.013 | 16 |
| 3 | L.Norris | McLaren | 1:42.737 (S) | +0.223 | 15 |
| 4 | O. Plates | McLaren | 1:42.749 (S) | +0.235 | 13 |
| 5 | Mr. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:42.862 (S) | +0.348 | 15 |
| 6 | C.Sainz | Ferrari | 1:42.968 (S) | +0.454 | 16 |
| 7 | S. Perez | Red Bull | 1:43.024 (S) | +0.510 | 15 |
| 8 | A. Albon | Williams | 1:43.194 (S) | +0.680 | 13 |
| 9 | F. Colapinto | Williams | 1:43.238 (S) | +0.724 | 14 |
| 10 | L.Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.301 (S) | +0.787 | 13 |
| 11 | F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:43.474 (S) | +0.960 | 15 |
| 12 | Y.Tsunoda | RB | 1:43.503 (S) | +0.989 | 17 |
| 13 | L. Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:43.571 (S) | +1.057 | 18 |
| 14 | D.Ricciardo | RB | 1:43.870 (S) | +1.356 | 18 |
| 15 | P.Gasly | Alpine | 1:43.876 (S) | +1.362 | 14 |
| 16 | N. Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:44.164 (S) | +1.650 | 13 |
| 17 | V. Bottas | Kick Sauber | 1:44.187 (S) | +1.673 | 18 |
| 18 | G.Zhou | Kick Sauber | 1:44.869 (S) | +2.355 | 20 |
| 19 | E.Ocon | Alpine | st | 0 | |
| 20 | O.Bearman | Haas | st | 2 |
F1 Baku, the FP3 chronicle
It will be a very tight qualifying session in Baku: in fact, in the third free practice session, there was a flash of brilliance from George Russellwho with his 1:42.514 joins the fight for pole position that at this point sees Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. And, above all, from the three free practice sessions no clear favorite emerged.
The British driver is just 13 thousandths ahead of Charles Leclerconce again at ease in the pursuit of performance on the single lap between the walls of Baku, even at the cost of risking an accident like in FP1. The Monegasque gives – as in FP2 – a considerable gap to Carlos Sainz (this time 6th at four tenths) and also beats the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri by two tenths.
Max Verstappen still seems to be down on the engine (he lost a lot in T3) and for this reason he should not be excluded from the fight for pole position: the Dutchman, fifth, also responds to his teammate Sergio Perez, who beat him yesterday. Williams also did well (8th and 9th), with Franco Colapinto who redeemed himself after yesterday’s mistake and stopped just 44 thousandths from Alex Albon, beating Lewis Hamilton. Mistake instead of the other (almost) rookie Oliver Bearman, who like Esteban Ocon does not have a time.
F1 Baku, FP3 live
You can relive the emotions of the third free practice session in Baku with our live commentary.
The program
F1 is back on track this afternoon at 2pm: in Baku things will start in earnest with the 17th qualifying of the year. Tomorrow at 1pm, instead, the Grand Prix.
#Baku #FP3 #Standings #thousandths #Russell #Leclerc
