In the first 10 minutes of the session, only three drivers set a timed reference: Sainz, Palmer, and P\u00e9rez. For Palmer, the practice session ends here due to the engine of the Briton’s Renault catching fire. It was a fire that the Azerbaijani track marshals struggled to extinguish, with the flag being waved in the first sector for about 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
\nMarshals on hand quickly to damp down the flames \ud83d\udc4d #AzerbaijanGP<\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddff #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tJVFK7Fo15<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 24 juin 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Shortly after, Bottas’ Mercedes takes the lead on the timesheet, equipped with yellow-striped soft tires, ahead of the cars of Massa, R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen, and P\u00e9rez, all three fitted with red-striped super soft tires. Lewis Hamilton’s second Mercedes is then 5th, also equipped with soft tires.<\/p>\n
26 minutes before the end of the session, Vettel’s Ferrari snatched 5th place from Hamilton on super softs but with a slight alert regarding his brakes, prompting him to return to the pits.<\/p>\n
20 minutes from the end of this practice session, Hamilton takes the provisional fastest time, which was held until then by his teammate, by almost 0.4 seconds, but with the super-soft tires equipped.<\/p>\n
In the last quarter of the session, Verstappen climbs the standings by moving into provisional 3rd place, half a second behind the new provisional leader Valtteri Bottas, who surpasses Hamilton by 3\/10ths before the three-time English world champion improves his time to be 0.1 seconds from his Finnish teammate.<\/p>\n
10 minutes before the end, things speed up: Verstappen’s Red Bull comes to a stop between sectors 2 and 3 due to a mechanical issue.<\/p>\n
\nProblems for VER \ud83d\udcfb “Everything just switched off” he says as he parks up at Turn 16 #AzerbaijanGP<\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddff #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qwGsKJKt3D<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 24 juin 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At the same time, R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen plays the spoiler among the Mercedes by positioning 2nd provisionally. Esteban Ocon follows with a good session, securing a solid 5th position, just behind the leading Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo, and 0.6 seconds off Bottas’s best time. Verstappen eventually finishes his session in a modest 6th place in the standings.<\/p>\n
\nPROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): Finns on top \ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddee #AzerbaijanGP<\/a> \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddff #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/Uly00NxlBO<\/a><\/p>\n