Perez edges Leclerc, outpaces Verstappen again ahead of Baku qualifying

Sergio Perez outpaced Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen once more as he edged out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to go fastest in final practice ahead of qualifying for the Azerbaijan GP.

Perez and Leclerc exchanged one-twos in Friday's two practice sessions, and again were able to outpace world champion Verstappen as Red Bull and Ferrari made their final preparations for Saturday's pole shootout, which is live on Sky Sports at 3pm.

Leclerc appeared to have the advantage over the Red Bulls for much of the session despite continued porpoising in his Ferrari, but in the final 10 minutes Perez produced a lap of 1:43.170 to edge the Ferrari by less than a tenth of a second.

Verstappen, who finished 0.2s further back, had his final attempt at a flying lap ruined as he ran into traffic on the Baku street circuit, with the Dutchman taking to team radio to express his frustration.

Carlos Sainz was fourth in the other Ferrari, while McLaren outpaced struggling Mercedes as Lando Norris finished a place ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in sixth.

Lewis Hamilton, who complained after practice on Friday of being sore due to extreme bouncing in the Mercedes, repeated his P2 performance by finishing 12th, with team-mate George Russell only manging eighth behind the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.

The start of the final practice was delayed by 15 minutes after a crash in the closing stages of the F2 sprint race left the track damaged at Turn 1, with qualifying now also set to be pushed back due to FIA regulations insisting on two hours between the sessions.

Perez's strong performance in Baku, where he won last year after Verstappen retired from the lead following a tyre failure, comes on the back of his first victory of this season in Monaco