The final practice session in Baku delivered the usual mix of sharp on-track action and the quirky side stories that only this street circuit seems to produce.
Lewis Hamilton’s exchanges with race engineer Riccardo Adami set the tone. Adami noted that Norris had found time: “Norris improved, others didn’t improve. We are two tenths an a half to Norris”, while Hamilton responded with calm acknowledgment and even an apology for his earlier impatience. Adami reassured him it was just a matter of balancing timing with tire temperatures. The back-and-forth highlighted how smooth their partnership has become, almost like watching a relationship evolve over time.
Classification and Track Action
On the timesheets, Norris led the way with a 1:41.223, followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, and Antonelli. Russell, Albon, Bearman, Lawson, and Leclerc completed the top ten.
Hamilton did have a brief detour off track, but he recovered instantly without damage and carried on with his run plan. Bearman was again one of the standouts, setting strong laps on 12-lap-old hards and underlining his growing reputation as a Baku specialist. He already has a double F2 win here in 2023 with bent steering on his résumé, plus points on his Haas debut in 2024, and he continues to look comfortable threading through these walls. Lawson provided one of the more memorable moments with a spin at Turn 16, looping cleanly enough that it looked like he was handing out donuts.
Earlier in the weekend, the risks of Baku were already on display: Albon lost his left mirror in FP1 and both McLarens ended up in the wall during FP2 on the C6 softs. FP3 only reinforced how quickly fortunes can change here.
Stroll in the Spotlight
Lance Stroll once again inspired debate about his value in different conditions. In the dry, his ceiling often looks like a bottom-five driver, but in the wet he regularly transforms into a genuine top-seven contender. His ability to read changing conditions and switch tyres at exactly the right moment has already delivered a series of top-seven finishes this year, including a pit-lane to P7 recovery just three weeks ago and a P17 to P7 surge at Silverstone. At the same time, his consistency remains questionable, he remains an enigma who could easily podium one weekend and beach it in the gravel the next.
Ferrari Hopium and Lap Time Speculation
Ferrari supporters once again reached for their customary Saturday optimism. Hamilton’s habit of topping practice only to slide back by race day is now familiar, while Leclerc remains unpredictable. His luck is such that fans half-jokingly fear a race with no safety car, where Ferrari have to instruct him to slow down just to avoid disqualification.
As for lap times, Norris’s 1:41.223 left analysts debating whether we’ll see pole in the high 1:39s or not. Norris was still giving the walls generous respect, running over 10kph slower on the straight than the best speed, which suggests more time is available with the engines turned up. But with the wind and hints of rain, mid-1:40s may be the limit this weekend.
Verstappen, Coverage, and Quirky Sideshows
Talk of “Bakustappen” hype continues to swirl, but the truth is Verstappen has never been particularly dominant here. Azerbaijan remains one of the rare circuits where he still looks mortal.
Coverage frustrations returned as well, long stretches of nothing punctuated by a cut to commercials just as flying laps began, and yellow flag moments never shown on replay. It’s a recurring issue that leaves fans feeling short-changed.
Baku also delivered its trademark oddities. The paddock cat, now confirmed as Matcha thanks to Laura Winters, stole attention again, though some argue she ought to be named Çay to fit the local flavor. The F1TV booth spent several minutes debating whether the Caspian Sea counts as a sea or a lake before reaching the correct conclusion: it’s a lake.
Then came the strangest moment of the weekend so far: something hurled toward Franco Colapinto. First reported as an apple, closer inspection suggested a half-deflated balloon, though the theories flew almost as fast as the cars. Some pointed out that the bounce ruled out fruit. The scene had the air of a UFO forum more than a race paddock. To top it off, F2 had its own surreal moment with a rogue Fanta can rolling onto the track, which Luke Browning ran over without suffering a puncture.
Wrapping Up
FP3 in Baku captured everything that makes this race weekend unique: Hamilton’s calm radio demeanor, his quick recovery from a brief detour, Bearman’s growing mystique as a local specialist, Lawson’s Turn 16 “donut,” Stroll’s wet-weather duality, Ferrari’s familiar cycle of hope and frustration, Verstappen’s muted form, and an endless supply of sideshows: cats, balloons, cans, and debates about geography. With Albon’s FP1 mirror drama and McLaren’s FP2 crashes already shaping the weekend, FP3 only reinforced the point: Baku never fails to deliver the unexpected.