Bottas ahead in final practice as Vettel and Verstappen hit trouble
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. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:42.742 | - | 21 |
| 2 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:42.837 | +0.095s | 14 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:43.158 | +0.416s | 23 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:43.287 | +0.545s | 24 |
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India Mercedes | 1:43.344 | +0.602s | 21 |
| 6 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:43.614 | +0.872s | 16 |
| 7 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 1:43.738 | +0.996s | 18 |
| 8 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:43.908 | +1.166s | 21 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams Mercedes | 1:44.040 | +1.298s | 17 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:44.138 | +1.396s | 22 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:44.312 | +1.570s | 16 |
| 12 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:44.344 | +1.602s | 7 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:44.401 | +1.659s | 23 |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:44.741 | +1.999s | 18 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:44.926 | +2.184s | 20 |
| 16 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren Honda | 1:45.143 | +2.401s | 17 |
| 17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:45.491 | +2.749s | 20 |
| 18 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:45.645 | +2.903s | 21 |
| 19 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber Ferrari | 1:45.722 | +2.980s | 19 |
| 20 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:53.040 | +10.298s | 4 |
