George Russell clocked the fastest time during the third free practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, despite the session being marred by chaos. A damp track and multiple red flags, courtesy of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, quickly disrupted the proceedings. Max Verstappen had to settle for the fifth fastest time.
The first drivers ventured onto the asphalt at 12:30 local time. What viewers at home couldn’t see was that a light rain shower had swept across the circuit earlier. Sergio Pérez, Guanyu Zhou, and Yuki Tsunoda each completed a lap before quickly returning to the pits. “The track feels a bit damp,” concluded Red Bull’s Mexican driver over the radio. Max Verstappen also limited his run to a single lap.
Red Flags
After the first fifteen minutes, there were still no times on the board. Lando Norris was the first to set off, but had to abort his fast lap; Esteban Ocon was stationary on the straight with engine problems. “I don’t think I can drive to the pit lane,” he said over the radio. The red flag was brought out and the session was interrupted.
With thirty-six minutes left on the clock, the session resumed. Max Verstappen opened the dance and recorded a fastest time of 1:45,209. The track was still wet, although conditions seemed to improve. While Alexander Albon led the time schedules, Oliver Bearman ended his session in the wall. The replacement for Kevin Magnussen missed his turn and steered too late. “I’m so stupid,” he told his engineer. Another red flag!
The broken Haas was fortunately quickly removed from the track. With twenty minutes to go, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren vied for the fastest time. George Russell took the honors. With 1:42,514, he managed to keep both Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris behind him, and we can prepare for the qualification for the GP of Azerbaijan.
