By: Good morning to all our friends at Formula1.it. Qualifying at the Baku circuit is about to get underway. The picture is not quite as clear-cut as it might have appeared before this morning's FP3. We have a particularly strong Verstappen, who is very close to the Mercedes drivers, although they remain, in our view, the benchmark. The Dutchman could have a chance in qualifying, while Red Bull are not too bad on race pace either, so it remains to be seen how far the four-time world champion can go as he searches for his first win of the season.
It is a different story for Ferrari and McLaren. The Woking team have yet to reveal all their cards and will do so mainly in Q3, so expect some surprises. Ferrari are struggling badly on the long straight, but Hamilton, on the other hand, has shown he can compensate for this weakness by making proper use of slipstreams. Hamilton and Leclerc need their opportunity to emerge in Q3; let's see whether it comes.
Before turning our attention to the live coverage of FP3, let us take a look at the Pirelli tyre allocation for the Azerbaijan GP: Hard C3, Medium C4 and Soft C5 will be available, the middle combination in the range (image: Pirelli graphic).
Pit lane opens: 14:00 Italian time. Live coverage from 13:45.
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Photo: X, Ferrari
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Azerbaijan GP 2026
