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Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Baku

It looks like a private Mercedes battle for pole between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg - and on performance so far, it is hard to see the German winning it if Hamilton puts a lap together. 

Ferrari and Red Bull accept they cannot beat them - but the Italian team believe they will be closer than the second they were off in P3. That’s because they set their best times on used tyres in practice.

Mad Pauly: Has to be Hamilton when things don't go his way.

Phil Evans: Biggest moaner? Felipe Massa, by a mile.

Sam Eilliott: As funny as it is, Vettel loves a good moan on the radio.

Rivercurse: Christian Horner. Seems a decent chap overall, but my God he whines like a jet engine when things aren't going his way.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Baku

Image source, AP

Valtteri Bottas goes into qualifying on the back foot a little after the bizarre problem that resulted in him missing final practice. The Finn’s car tore up a drain cover in the pit lane and it damaged his floor, side pod and other aerodynamic parts. 

Bottas said that he may do an extra lap or two in the first part of qualifying to ensure things are OK with the car and its set-up but feels he won’t miss out too much because it was hot in P3 and, now the sun is going down, are more like they were in second practice on Friday, when he was fourth quickest.    

BBC Radio 5 live commentators Tom Clarkson and Jack Nicholls give their take on Baku's new F1 circuit.

Robbie W: Rosberg and Vettel are champion moaners! Only time Rosberg's happy is when Hamilton hits bad luck! Gives him a chance.

James Macdonald: Easy - Jacques Villeneuve never misses an opportunity to vent his spleen on any subject.  

It's been a while since we saw Villeneuve in F1 but he definitely spoke his mind...

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Baku

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren looked more competitive than expected on a track with such a long straight - Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest in first practice, for example. Jenson Button was the quicker of the two in the second session in ninth, with Alonso a couple of tenths and the same number of places behind. 

Button was eighth in FP3 with Alonso 11th.

On Friday the cars were losing 0.9 seconds in the final sector, which is just Turn 16 and the long straight, because of the lack of power of the Honda engine. McLaren believe they look artificially quick in early running on new tracks because they have better simulation tools than many teams and then, as Button put it, "now everyone has got to grips with the track, it has put us in our place a little". 

But neither sounded too downbeat about their prospects. "There is still more to come,” Button said. And Alonso added after second practice: "Our level of competitiveness is maybe a little better than we thought before coming here and that is the positive news from today. I am still thinking maybe Q3 is very possible. I think we are in a similar position to the last couple of weeks and Q3 and points should be the target for both cars." 

As for fuel saving, which dropped Alonso back out of the top 10 in Montreal last weekend, he said: "I think it is going to be a little bit better than in Canada. That will definitely help us in terms of race pace.”

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Baku

Image source, Getty Images

A few safety niggles aside, the drivers are enjoying the Baku track’s challenge. 

The castle section was an underwhelming drive, despite the beautiful backdrop, but elsewhere there are some real hold-your-breath places and difficult corners. 

Jenson Button highlighted the last of the left-hand kicks in the narrow section after the castle. "The twisty bit, you’re through it so quick, it’s very slow," he said. "I love speed. Turn 14 is more fun, it is right on the edge. Mad, really." 

And Daniel Ricciardo singled out one before it and the kinks on the straight, especially Turns 18 and 19. "The kinks on the straight, they’re full (throttle) but not easy. It’s good to have these high-speed corners that are on the edge. There is no real easy corner on the track. Which is good."

Lewis Hamilton isn't the only speedy Brit in the region. Tim Peake landed just over 2,000 miles away from the European Grand Prix this morning in deepest rural Kazakhstan. 

His Soyuz capsule approached terra firma at 80 metres per second, which is 179mph.

So slower than Hamilton down the back straight, then. 

Although he did have the parachute deployed to be fair. (514mph before that, so...)

Image source, NASA

Ryan Adams: Definitely has to be Vettel, he moans about anything that doesn't go his way! Just a giant cry baby.

Debbie Wren: Jenson is a wonderful role model but he has been moaning a lot of late.

Wenger Ball: Lately it's been Vettel. But overall I think there is no bigger moaner than Kimi. But then again, we all love it when he gets angry.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was seventh-fastest in FP3, seems to think he can improve on that position in qualifying...

Image source, Getty Images

Another driver who got into a bit of bother was Force India's Sergio Perez who ended FP3 slightly prematurely by smashing into the wall at Turn 15.

One man who has reason to complain is Williams' Valtteri Bottas, whose FP3 was ruined by running over a loose drain cover in the pitlane at the start of that session.

The sidepod on Bottas' Williams was damaged and the mechanics weren't able to repair the car in time to get him out again.

Time to open a can of worms...

There have been a few issues with the Baku circuit as it makes its F1 debut this weekend, with some drivers criticising the kerbs and safety of the pitlane entry.

Lewis Hamilton wasn't one of them, responding to the complaints by saying: "One thing for sure, these drivers they moan so much about so many things. I guarantee you."

We want to know who you think is the biggest moaner in F1. We've had plenty of team radio rants from Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel this season, while Nico Rosberg and Hamilton himself have been known to air their grievances.

Tweet your thoughts to #bbcf1.

Image source, EPA

Everything we've seen so far in Baku would suggest this will be a straight fight for pole between the two Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton has had the edge over his team-mate, topping the timing sheets in all three practice suggestions.

The German was fastest for most of FP3 earlier but Hamilton went two-and-a-half tenths quicker in last two minutes.

Can Rosberg respond in quali?

Image source, Rex Features

Four poles for Hamilton, two for Rosberg.

Four race wins for Rosberg, two for Hamilton.

But the Briton has triumphed in the last two. Can he keep up the momentum in Baku?

Welcome to qualifying for the European Grand Prix...

Nico Rosberg appeared to have the edge for almost all that session but, as he so often does, Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton turned up the wick in the final seconds.

Right, that's all from us for now but we'll be back in just 50 minutes at 13:00 BST to begin our qualifying build-up.

The fight for pole will begin at 14:00.

See you shortly.