Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped third and final practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, beating Mercedes' George Russell and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton on Baku's street circuit. Verstappen took command late in the session as teams switched to qualifying runs, using a big slipstream to go fastest despite Mercedes being the favourite in Baku. The session started quietly with Alpines leading early running, well off Thursday's FP2 pace.

The big teams flexed their muscle 15 minutes in, with Charles Leclerc's 1m45.564s demoting Hamilton's effort. As drivers honed their slipstreaming timing for the crucial 2km straight, Verstappen lunged to first, only to be deposed by Hamilton's 1m45.093s. Conditions were gustier than Friday, with a virtual safety car deployed for a tree branch on the track.

Verstappen reported a Red Bull 'jumping like a kangaroo' before going deep into Turn 15 runoff. Lance Stroll tagged the wall in Turn 1, damaging his suspension. Russell claimed top spot with a 1m44.715s lap on mediums, then set a 1m44.177s marker on softs.

Verstappen benefitted from a huge slipstream to split the Mercedes cars, ultimately setting a 1m43.922s lap to top the session. Hamilton pipped Antonelli to third, followed by Leclerc and Gasly. McLaren's Piastri and Norris were seventh and eighth despite upgrades.

Isack Hadjar claimed ninth for Red Bull ahead of Colapinto.