Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Sergio Perez was the fastest

It was on a 48-degree track that the drivers had the opportunity to do their final laps before qualifying. The start of this third practice session was delayed by 15 minutes to repair the barriers at the first corner. These were damaged following an incident between Bolukbasi and Williams. Aston Martin and Mercedes were the first cars to take to the track.

With 40 minutes remaining, Lewis Hamilton had a little scare as he missed his braking point at the first corner. An error not entirely unfamiliar for the British World Champion, who, in a much more dramatic context, had lost the victory in 2021 due to a similar off-track incident. His former teammate at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas, had made a similar mistake shortly before.

Despite setting his time on hard tires, Pierre Gasly impressed by temporarily recording the 4th fastest time of the session. This was notably made possible by taking advantage of the slipstream from Norris ahead of him on the long straight leading into the pits. This demonstrated how slipstreaming could be a formidable tool for teams during qualifying. At that moment, the Frenchman was the driver with the highest top speed, reaching 345 km/h.

Ferrari and Red Bull still battling it out.

It was necessary to wait until halfway through the session to see the reigning World Champion take to the track. Quickly, the Dutch driver placed second on the time sheet with a 1’43’653. A little over a tenth of a second slower than Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, but two tenths faster than his garage neighbor, Sergio Perez. The Mexican has always historically been comfortable on this Baku circuit and showed it right away this weekend by setting the fastest time in Free Practice 1. For the first time this season, Max Verstappen’s main rival may not be Charles Leclerc, but his teammate.

As Charles Leclerc was improving his time, Valtteri Bottas had a little embarrassing moment. Missing his braking at the third turn, the Finn was forced to take the escape route. However, unable to engage reverse gear, the Alfa Romeo driver got stuck for long seconds before finally getting back on track. More of a scare than anything else, really.

While Max Verstappen was unable to beat Leclerc’s 1’43’270, Sergio Perez managed to do so. It was a very impressive lap that forced the Monegasque to push hard to reclaim the top of the time sheet. So much so that he missed the braking point of turn 15 and had to take the escape route.

So it is Sergio Perez who comes out on top in this third free practice session. Just a few thousandths ahead of Charles Leclerc and a few tenths ahead of Max Verstappen. Once again this season, the battle for pole position will be between the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers.