EL3 in Baku: Leclerc and Ferrari on their way

Until then, the Azerbaijani weekend of Charles Leclerc looks a lot like his Bahrain innings a month earlier. Already dominating at the end of Friday's free practice, the Monegasque once again stands out at the top of the EL3 timesheets this Saturday in Baku. 

Leclerc sets a time of 1'41''604 and pushes back his teammate Sebastian Vettel almost two tenths (0''198). In the role of the main opponent of Ferrari, we find Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The Dutchman, however, is 1″248 short of the benchmark established by the former Sauber driver: a gulf. Verstappen precedes the Silver Arrows by Valtteri Bottas et Lewis Hamilton, who seem less sharp than their Italian rivals. 

Toro Rosso confirms his good intentions by placing his two Honda-powered STR14s in the first eight: Daniil Kvyat signs the 6th fastest time, two places ahead of his rookie teammate Alexander albon. Between the two members of Faenza slips Kevin Magnussen, whose stable Haas had been discreet until now. The Dane precedes an astonishing Sergio Pérez (Racing Point), record holder for podiums in Azerbaijan with two finishes in the top three (2016 and 2018), while Kimi Räikkönen completes the first half of the table for Alfa Romeo. 

In the second part of the ranking, we find the four cars powered by Renault, namely the factory single-seaters of the Losange and the McLaren. Session far from the limelight also for the two French drivers. Romain Grosjean is 17th, while Pierre Gasly brings up the rear. Heavily penalized the day before for having missed the weigh-in, the Norman knows that he must start from the pit lane and has therefore prioritized work on the racing configuration of his RB15.  

Less than two hours before the start of qualifying, Ferrari seems widely favored to take pole position on the boulevards of Baku and we would not be surprised if it once again fell into the hands of a certain Charles Leclerc. Response from 17:00 p.m. local time, or 15:00 p.m. in France with our live commentary on CARhebdo.fr.  

FP3 CLASSIFICATION: Clear daylight between @ScuderiaFerrari and the rest of the field #AzerbaijanGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/mNZ3jt0xdA

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 27, 2019