In the last F1 practice session of the 2025 Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Lando Norris confidently navigated the Baku City Circuit in gusty winds to come out on top. It all came down to the final minutes, the #4 set a personal best time for the weekend at 1:41.223. Read on for a full, comprehensive report of the F1 Free Practice 3 results.
Windy Conditions Provide New Challenges
Despite the one-hour countdown on the clock, no one was coming out of their garage in a hurry. The wind had picked up significantly, and with some rainy conditions forecast for the race on Sunday, we watched the eerily quiet track. Finally, both Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One drivers, Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, and the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team driver Oliver Bearman put us out of our misery as they took to the track. However, many other drivers still had no tyres on in a bid to conserve the medium compound tyres available for the weekend.
Already, the wind was wreaking havoc through Turns 15 and 16, where the headwind was at its strongest. Not to mention all the debris from the overhanging trees that littered the circuit. With twenty minutes of the session complete, only Max Verstappen and the two Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team drivers had yet to emerge. With a little more than thirty minutes left, all drivers had finally made it out.
McLaren’s Woes Wane
Despite placing first and second during Free Practice 1, McLaren Formula 1 still struggled with a PU issue for Oscar Piastri. Friday did not get any better for the Australian or his teammate, Norris. The #4 hit the wall in Free Practice 2, damaging his car in the process. After the string of bad luck on Friday, the team were looking for a reset to improve pace as they work toward clinching the Constructors’ Championship.
When both drivers came out for the session, they donned the soft compound tyres, specifically the C6 rubber. This compound appeared to be the tyre of choice, with a handful choosing the hard compound. While it took them a while to reach the times that Bearman was setting, Norris eventually popped up to first with a time of 1:43.640. With the windy conditions levelling the field, Norris and Piastri were much more competitive throughout the rest of the session.
Minor Lock-Ups and Run-Offs
With all drivers out, traffic became an added issue as the wind continued to buffet the cars about. Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto were caught out, having to use the run-off area to execute handbrake turns to make it back onto the track. It didn’t appear that Hamilton had suffered any flat-spotting on his tyres, the #44 taking the top spot from his teammate, Charles Leclerc. It wasn’t long before he was knocked off and tumbled back down the timeboard.
Bortoletto had another lock-up, and Gasly clipped the wall, possibly hard enough to impact his thumb. The BWT Alpine Formula One Team car continued to struggle on a track ill-suited to their set-up. Leclerc was lucky to avoid punctures, continuing to push through his lap after hitting the wall himself. However, this incident allowed Verstappen to catch the #16 and take the top spot on the timesheet by six tenths of a second.
Final Fifteen Minutes Result in Flying Laps
For the last few laps, drivers made tyre changes, some going from hard to soft and others putting on fresh sets. Not only did this result in a lot of times tumbling down, but it also had us wincing as cars skirted dangerously close to the walls around the track. Alexanderl Abon and Norris both went purple in the first two sectors. However, the wind continued to pick up, forcing Albon wide before he reversed his Atlassian Williams Racing car back on track. Piastri was also forced to abandon his lap as he got bent out of shape twice in different sectors. Verstappen followed suit, giving them only a few minutes left to try again. In the end, he was only able to split the two McLaren drivers, coming in second for the session.