Lando Norris made an impressive comeback after his Friday crash, setting the fastest time in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. His McLaren teammate and championship leader, Oscar Piastri, secured third place, finishing behind Max Verstappen.
After what Norris himself called a “costly” mistake on Friday, which saw him damage his McLaren against the wall and miss the latter half of the second practice, the British driver showcased superb form on his return to action around the demanding Baku City Circuit. He outpaced his closest rivals by two tenths of a second, clocking a best lap of 1:41.223.
Piastri, who holds a 31-point lead over Norris in the standings, was the one who made several errors during this session, almost crashing at Turn Four himself, but ultimately managed to climb back to third.
However, the Australian was still outpaced by Verstappen, who seems poised to challenge the McLarens once again, much like he did two weeks prior at Monza where he claimed both pole position and victory.
Friday`s pacesetter, Lewis Hamilton, also showed strong pace, finishing fourth, suggesting he remains a threat at the front. In contrast, Baku qualifying specialist Charles Leclerc dropped to 10th in the sister Ferrari.
The qualifying session, anticipated to feature a multi-team battle for pole, is scheduled to take place live at 1 PM local time. Karun Chandhok of Sky Sports F1 expressed optimism, stating he expects Red Bull and Ferrari to mount a strong challenge against McLaren during qualifying.
Rupert Hollis