Sebastian Vettel produced the fastest lap of FP3 at the
Azerbaijan Grand Prix but a late crash by Sergey Sirotkin prevent some teams finishing their full qualifying simulations.
Vettel has taken pole position on the last two weekends and looks set to start this afternoon’s session as favourite to make it three in a row.
The German is in confident mood in Baku despite a difficult weekend a fortnight ago when a clash with Max Verstappen left him unable to collect more than four points from the race.
It saw his lead, which was built up by winning the first two races of the year, cut to just nine points while Mercedes overhauled Ferrari to lead the Constructors' by just a point.
However, Vettel produced a 1:43.091 in the last session of practice to finish four tenths clear of
Hamilton and send a clear message to his title rival about his pace in Baku.
Daniel Ricciardo, who secured his sixth career win in China thanks to timely pit stop and a terrific display of overtaking, is also expected to figure at the front but a red flag late in FP3 prevented him from showing his true pace.
The Australian was one of those hampered by Sergey Sirotkin, who crashed his Williams with just nine minutes remaining on Saturday morning.