2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3: Norris Tops the Times as McLaren Sets the Pace

Racing Statistics
Sep 20
2 min read

Baku City Circuit — Saturday, September 20, 2025 (Round 17) FP3 Session.

Lando Norris led the final practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with a composed 1:41.223, putting McLaren on top ahead of qualifying. Max Verstappen was next for Red Bull, with Oscar Piastri third to complete a McLaren-heavy top three. Further back, Yuki Tsunoda ended a tricky hour in P16.

FP3 Sector Times chart for Azerbaijan GP 2025. Displays sector times in red, blue, yellow bars, and best lap in gray bars for various drivers. — Azerbaijan GP FP3 Results

Key Storylines

Norris fastest, nerves settled

After yesterday’s brush with the wall sparked paddock chatter, Lando Norris delivered the perfect reply: a clean, confident lap to go quickest without the benefit of a tow—hinting there’s still more to come when the slipstreams arrive in qualifying.

Verstappen & Piastri in close company

Max Verstappen finished just 0.222s adrift, with Oscar Piastri another 0.032s back. Both set their laps on new softs, confirming that Red Bull and McLaren look poised for a tight fight over pole.

Graph showing drivers' ideal vs best lap times at 2025 Azerbaijan GP FP3. Green dots for ideal, white for best, labeled by driver names. — Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP3 Ideal vs Best Lap

Ferrari’s uneven hour

Lewis Hamilton placed P4, while Charles Leclerc could only manage P10 as Ferrari’s session ebbed and flowed with track limits deletions and off-track excursions interrupting rhythm.

Mercedes youth movement

Rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli edged teammate George Russell late on to take P5. Mercedes look firmly in the hunt to lock the second row if they convert single-lap speed when it matters.

Midfield movers: Albon & Bearman

With the wind picking up, consistency became a premium. Alex Albon (P7) and Oliver Bearman (P8) kept it tidy to land strong grid-setting platforms heading into qualifying.

Bar chart of top speeds from Azerbaijan GP FP3. STR leads at 347 km/h. Colorful bars represent different drivers. Dark background. — 2025 Azerbaijan GP Top Speeds in Free Practice 3

Work to do for Tsunoda

After running Verstappen close in FP1, Yuki Tsunoda slipped to P16 with a 1:42.840. The gap to the front—1.617s—re-surfaces the race-pace improvement Tsunoda flagged on Thursday as a key weekend objective.

What it means for qualifying

Pole fight: McLaren vs Red Bull looks too close to call; Norris’s no-tow lap is especially encouraging for Q3.
Second row: Mercedes could disrupt the front-row battle if their warm-up and track-evolution reads are on point.
Ferrari volatility: If they tidy the off-track moments and time deletions, Hamilton/Leclerc still have single-lap potential.
Midfield intrigue: Williams and Haas have a real shot at Q3 if conditions stay breezy and messy.