When everything was ready for the last free practice of the 2022 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix to begin, the FIA delayed the start of the session because they were still repairing the protections that were damaged in the F2 morning test minutes before it was due to start. put the traffic light green.
However, that did not prevent Sergio Pérez from finishing at the top of the time table thanks to his time of 1:43.170 on soft tyres, obviously preparing for the afternoon qualifying, which would define the starting positions of the race. Sunday.
Behind the Mexican finished Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, who was unable to beat his best time in the second attempt after breaking the first sector record on the softest tyre, while Max Verstappen was third on Saturday morning and still hasn’t overtaken your partner throughout the weekend.
The fourth in contention was Carlos Sainz, who with the other Ferrari did not manage to go beyond that place that he surely wants to improve in the afternoon classification to opt for a new podium in the urban layout of Baku.
Lando Norris’s McLaren finished as the best of the rest , who was able to stop the stopwatch one second and two tenths off Sergio Pérez’s best time, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in sixth position for a hypothetical third row of the grid completely papaya.
Pierre Gasly continued his good dynamics in the AlphaTauri after setting the seventh fastest time of the morning in Baku, enough to be ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin, who closed the top ten positions.
F1 Azerbaijan GP 2022 FP3 Free Practice 3 Results
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy the entire table)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Km/h | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sergio Perez |
 |
18 | 1’43.170 | 209,467 | |
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |
 |
19 | 1’43.240 | 0.070 | 209.325 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |
|
14 | 1’43.449 | 0.279 | 208.902 |
| 4 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |
|
19 | 1,43,596 | 0.426 | 208,606 |
| 5 |  Lando Norris |
 |
13 | 1’44.418 | 1.248 | 206.964 |
| 6 |  Daniel Ricciardo |
|
19 | 1’44.476 | 1.306 | 206.849 |
| 7 |  Pierre Gasly |
 |
21 | 1’44.491 | 1,321 | 206,819 |
| 8 | George Russell |
 |
17 | 1’44.573 | 1.403 | 206.657 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon |
 |
15 | 1’44.685 | 1.515 | 206.436 |
| 10 |  Sebastian Vettel |
 |
18 | 1’44.689 | 1.519 | 206.428 |
| see results | ||||||
Summary of Free Practice 3 of the Azerbaijan GP 2022 F1
The session started a quarter of an hour late due to the fact that the FIA was still repairing the protections that were damaged in the jump of the last lap in the Formula 2 race, so the drivers had to wait in their garages to see the green flag.
It seemed that the work they put in on Friday with the long runs was enough for the teams as they were in no hurry to get out, with only the two Aston Martins, both Mercedes and Mick Schumacher getting on the tarmac in the opening minutes.
When the cars cleaned up the track a bit, the rest were encouraged to roll, albeit all on the soft tyres, which meant they would be going for fast laps and qualifying simulations from the start. However, at the Brackley garage they had to make a little technical stop, as Lewis Hamilton got out of his W13 to presumably go to the toilet, as he immediately returned to see his partner, George Russell, get in. head.
After the first 15 minutes , the silver arrows had their driver as the fastest, but their illusions quickly vanished due to the 1:46.457 of Carlos Sainz, who with his Ferrari snatched the best time of the session from the young Briton. The fight for the first position was served, and the other car from Maranello, that of Charles Leclerc, beat the Spanish with a 1:45.260 , also with the softer rubber.
At that time, almost the entire grid, with the exception of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, was on the circuit with the red compound to test fast lap attempts, such as Fernando Alonso, who had to release his foot from the accelerator because he had a big scare and almost ended up against the wall.
In Milton Keynes , after working all morning on his vibrant rear wing, they put Sergio Pérez in second place, just two tenths behind Leclerc, although Ferrari struck again, first with Sainz and then with the Monegasque to follow commanding the classification of these third free practices.
Charles Leclerc painted all the sectors purple to stop the stopwatch at 1:43.514 , something that Max Verstappen wanted to beat, who halfway through the session made his first launched lap. The Dutchman could not go beyond second position, 52 thousandths behind his teammate, but shortly after, Pérez lowered his record and was three tenths behind the leader.
As time progressed, the cars improved their times, and the reigning world champion once again set a lap that left him just a tenth behind his 2022 title rival Leclerc.
As for the Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton continued to suffer from porpoising , and could only get fifth at one point, a long way behind Russell, but gradually dropped down the table to ninth, almost two and a half seconds behind. best of the Ferraris.
The teammate of the seven-time champion, with a quarter of an hour to go, put on a new set of softs to stay an exact second behind Leclerc, but the Englishman continued to complain on the radio that he lacked grip on the rear.
With 15 minutes to go, many on the grid emptied their fuel tanks and ran on a new soft compound to attempt the final fastest lap, so the standings shifted.
Again, as happened earlier in the session, Leclerc was breaking sector records, but at the moment of crossing the finish line he did not lower his time, keeping his 1:43.240 . Verstappen wanted to get to the top, but a yellow flag caused by Valtteri Bottas going off the track ended all his options at the first attempt.
With just a few minutes remaining, Checo Pérez improved the Monegasque’s time to regain the lead in these last practices, although he still had to look askance at Sainz’s Ferrari, which made a lap that left him four tenths behind the Mexican.
Alonso was the last to attempt a qualifying simulation, and on the soft tire in heavy traffic he was able to rise from the bottom of the table to 11th , still behind teammate Esteban Ocon, just as Verstappen found it and could not improve.
Gallery: the best photos of the third free practice of the Azerbaijan GP 2022 Formula 1
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
