Madness in Baku. This could absolutely be the title of a blockbuster comedy that sweeps the theaters. But no. This is what awaits Formula 1 drivers and all ‘Great Circus’ fans in qualifying this Saturday.
in a circuit with very narrow areas, urban, with very close walls, potholes, where it is very easy to hit obstacles or make mistakes, Delays due to yellow and red flags can be consistent. Furthermore, we must add the traffic that may be in the pit lane or on track in all parts of the classification. And of course, the usual risk or mischief of a red flag that gives pole to the one who achieved the best time in his first attempt in Q3.
But as if the components of this classification are few, the ‘quality’ this Saturday could be even crazier because of the huge uncertainty in the battle for the first positions: Up to 8 drivers with 4 different cars aspire to be on pole: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. Unbelievable. crazy! The best example of how beautiful and spectacular F1 can be before the massive rule change of 2026. The forces are now equal and the fight has become even fiercer.
With Free Practice 3, it’s very hard to draw more conclusions than that. And George Russell, with his Mercedes, led the third session, setting his time with used tires, beating one of the big favorites, Charles Leclerc, author of 3 consecutive pole positions in Baku (without winning here) by 13 thousand.
The two McLarens joined the party again as they always do on Saturdays. The orange cars, the best at most tracks at this point in the championship, should be good candidates for everyone. Norris is currently third at 0.223 and his teammate, Piastri, is fourth, just two thousandths behind the Englishman In theory, Oscar should help Lando get closer to Max in the title fight, but we’ll have to see if finally he doing it on the track.
For his part, World Championship leader Max Verstappen, with a new floor where his car seems to perform better, was 5th on used tyres, 0.348 off the best time, and lost again of time in the third sector. (on the straight), something different from his teammate Pérez, with a better third set ‘Checo’ was 7th when he set his time earlier, because he used his last turn to give Max a nice slipstream there. last sector, clear preparation for what will be seen in the classification If Max chooses a better configuration for the second sector, with less straight edge, the Mexican slipstream could be the key.
Sainz, 6th, on ointment
Between the two Red Bulls, in sixth place, Carlos Sainz finished, 0.454 behind the best that the man from Madrid has to improve because he must have a car to be there in Monza, qualifying in front, in the first two rows, is important to aim for victory or the podium in such a strict F1 he has to go for it.
Williams, 5th best car and Alonso, 11th
F1 simulations after Friday’s free practice put Aston Martin as the 5th best team within a lap, battling for 9th and 10th place in Q3. However, in Free Practice 3 it was Williams who showed the greatest potential as the best in the central zone. Alex Albon was 8th at 0″680 and Franco Colapinto, competing in his second F1 race, showed great mental strength as he recovered from his accident on Friday to finish 9th , half a tenth behind his teammate and 0″724 behind the best. The Argentine continued to gain confidence between the walls on a delicate track and lacked the experience of others.
After Hamilton, who was 10th but should have been at the top in qualifying, Fernando Alonso finished. The Asturian was 11th with a last-minute configuration change to continue testing things on your car and fine-tuning your engine. The man from Oviedo will be looking for a new Q3, knowing how difficult it will be to score again on Sunday because in the race his car was melted by greater degradation and lower speed. To aim for them, it will once again be important that Alonso maximizes his results on the grid. Again, in the very tight middle zone, details can make a difference, as can yellow or red flags that can be displayed in a seemingly exciting classification.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
