Max Verstappen thwarted George Russell's attempt to claim a flawless set of fastest times in the final practice session, as Red Bull reignited its challenge to the Mercedes pair ahead of Friday's qualifying at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The session was marked by increasingly gusty conditions on Baku's narrow, wall‑lined streets, turning the track into a true test of car control. The wind gusts proved treacherous, and several drivers lost the limits, running off the tarmac at various points throughout the hour‑long session. On Thursday, when the weather was calmer, Mercedes had shown clear dominance, and that momentum initially carried over into Friday's early laps.
However, Verstappen quickly found extra grip on the soft tyre compound, steadily improving his sector times. By the end of the session he had posted a blistering lap of 1:43.922, enough to leapfrog Russell and sit atop the timesheet. Russell, who had come close to clipping the barriers at the tricky Turn Seven after a straight‑line run, could only manage a lap that was 0.099 seconds slower, leaving him in second place. His near‑miss highlighted how unforgiving the Baku circuit can be when the wind shifts, especially in the high‑speed sections where even a small mistake can send a car into the concrete walls.
Further down the order, Ferrari struggled to keep pace with the Red Bull and Mercedes pair for most of the session. Yet on his final lap, Lewis Hamilton managed to edge into third place, finishing just 0.111 seconds behind Verstappen.
Hamilton's improvement was partly due to a powerful tow he received on Baku's long pit straight, which gave him a valuable boost of straight‑line speed at a crucial moment. This aerodynamic assistance, combined with the windy conditions, is expected to play a decisive role in the upcoming qualifying, where drivers will be fighting for the best possible slipstream and the most stable car balance. Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft summed up the situation, noting that the weather had set the stage for "an absolutely fascinating and dramatic qualifying to come" and that the conditions were "not easy" by any measure. The combination of wind, temperature changes, and the narrow street layout means that drivers will need to find the perfect balance between downforce and straight‑line speed.
Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship by 81 points over Russell, posted the fourth‑fastest time, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Both drivers experienced brief off‑track excursions, underscoring the difficulty of extracting performance in such a volatile environment. Three weeks after his sensational pole at Monza, Pierre Gasly demonstrated Alpine's progress by securing sixth place, outpacing the McLaren duo. Despite McLaren bringing a significant aerodynamic upgrade to Baku, Lando Norris had already dismissed the reigning world champions as serious pole contenders after Thursday's runs, and his assessment proved accurate as the team was roughly 0.8 seconds off the leading pace.
Oscar Piastri posted the seventh‑quickest lap, edging Norris, while Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, returning from a three‑race layoff due to a wrist injury, was still finding his rhythm and finished further down the order. Franco Colapinto recorded a respectable tenth place in the second Alpine, just ahead of Carlos Sainz, who drove a heavily revised Williams that showed promising improvement compared with earlier sessions.
Lance Stroll's day was cut short after he clipped the inside wall at Turn One, completing only nine laps before retiring to the run‑off area. His incident highlighted the fine margins on this circuit, where a small misjudgment can quickly end a run.
The schedule for the remainder of the weekend is packed. On Friday, the F2 Feature Race 1 will kick off at 11:10 am, followed by the build‑up to Azerbaijan GP qualifying at 12:30 pm, with the qualifying session itself slated for 1:00 pm on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event. Later, at 3:00 pm, Ted's Qualifying Notebook will provide analysis.
Saturday continues with the second F2 Feature Race at 7:55 am, a Grand Prix build‑up at 10:30 am, the main race at 12:00 pm, and post‑race reaction at 2:00 pm, followed by another notebook at 3:00 pm. All events will be streamed live on Sky Sports, with the option to watch via NOW without a long‑term contract, allowing cancellation at any time. Fans are encouraged to use the Chrome browser for the most accessible video player experience. In summary, the final practice in Baku was a showcase of how quickly fortunes can change when wind and track layout combine to test driver skill and car setup.
Verstappen's ability to extract a sub‑1:44 lap on soft tyres, Russell's narrow miss at Turn Seven, Hamilton's strategic tow, and the varied performances across the midfield set the stage for a highly competitive qualifying session. With the championship battle intensifying and the Baku street circuit demanding precision, the upcoming qualifying promises to be a pivotal moment in the 2026 Formula 1 season.