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Verstappen edges Russell in final practice in Azerbaijan / Photo: © AFP
Verstappen edges Russell in final practice in Azerbaijan
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen topped the times for Red Bull ahead of Mercedes' George Russell in Friday's third and final free practice ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Verstappen clocked a best lap of one minute and 43.922 seconds in the final minutes of a closely-fought session in difficult gusty conditions on the demanding Baku street circuit to claim his first FP3 top spot of the season.
He wound up 0.099sec ahead of Russell, who had topped both practices on Thursday, with Ferrari's seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton third, 0.111 sec adrift.
World championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who missed half of both Thursday's practice sessions, was 0.252sec slower than his team-mate Russell.
Verstappen, who posted his time when the two Mercedes had already returned to the garage, still found time to allow his frustration with the car to bubble up over the team radio.
"If, for once, this car wouldn't jump like a kangaroo, my God," he said.
Charles Leclerc, who is seeking his fifth pole in Baku and his first win, was fifth in the second Ferrari followed by Alpine's Pierre Gasly and the McLaren pair Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris.
Isack Hadjar was ninth for Red Bull and Franco Colapinto 10th in the second Alpine.
The drivers will be back out on the track when qualifying begins at 1200GMT.
The grand prix itself is being run on Saturday, rather than the usual Sunday, because September 27 is a national day of remembrance in Azerbaijan.
L. Brown--BTZ
