Bottas ahead in final practice as Vettel and Verstappen hit trouble

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Azerbaijan, Baku Street Circuitaz

The third practice session at Baku turned out as another close and eventful hour of running. While several drivers hit technical trouble, Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas was unfazed and fastest, just pipping Kimi Raikkonen by a tenth.

Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, yet again slower than his team mate, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in the fastest Red Bull. Esteban Ocon proved a handy 5th in the Force India, ahead of Verstappen, Massa, Kvyat, Stroll and Perez who completed the top 10.

The session kicked off with early spectacle as Jolyon Palmer's Renault came to a halt in flames at Turn 2, leaving him 20th with just 4 laps on his counter. The troubled Briton could have really used a trouble free session following his crash in Friday's FP2, but it wasn't to be.

There was similar bad luck for Sebastian Vettel as he was instructed to return to the pits, half an hour into the session. Suspected hydraulic problems sidelined him from then on, stranding in 12th following a run on the super soft tyres.

Max Verstappen's Red Bull lasted for nearly the entire session until he too encountered technical issues.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
177Valtteri BottasMercedes1:42.742-21
27Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:42.837+0.095s14
344Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:43.158+0.416s23
43Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer1:43.287+0.545s24
531Esteban OconForce India Mercedes1:43.344+0.602s21
633Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer1:43.614+0.872s16
719Felipe MassaWilliams Mercedes1:43.738+0.996s18
826Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1:43.908+1.166s21
918Lance StrollWilliams Mercedes1:44.040+1.298s17
1011Sergio PerezForce India Mercedes1:44.138+1.396s22
1127Nico HulkenbergRenault1:44.312+1.570s16
125Sebastian VettelFerrari1:44.344+1.602s7
1355Carlos SainzToro Rosso1:44.401+1.659s23
1414Fernando AlonsoMcLaren Honda1:44.741+1.999s18
1520Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:44.926+2.184s20
162Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren Honda1:45.143+2.401s17
178Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:45.491+2.749s20
189Marcus EricssonSauber Ferrari1:45.645+2.903s21
1994Pascal WehrleinSauber Ferrari1:45.722+2.980s19
2030Jolyon PalmerRenault1:53.040+10.298s4