Charles Leclerc led the way once again in Monaco Grand Prix third free practice, with Max Verstappen ending up less than two tenths of a second adrift.
The hometown favorite Leclerc, who has twice taken pole position in Monte Carlo but never won his home race, built on his Friday pace when he topped the time charts in the final hour of running before qualifying.
The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag after Valtteri Bottas hit the wall at Rascasse. Once it resumed, Leclerc held the provisional P1 with a 1m12.521s, ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Verstappen 0.242s off the Ferrari driver’s pace. Mercedes, which had looked strong on Friday, encountered traffic and struggled to set competitive times.
After the break, Verstappen improved on soft tires, setting a benchmark lap of 1m11.369s. In the closing stages, several drivers made their final qualifying simulations. Verstappen displaced Piastri but could only manage a 1m11.566s, still 0.197s shy of Leclerc’s best. This marked the Dutchman’s highest position so far this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton, who had locked up earlier in Turn 1 and abandoned his lap, jumped to third, albeit 0.341s behind Leclerc. Sergio Perez showed improved form to finish fifth, ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz. Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda took eighth and ninth, while Fernando Alonso maintained his streak of top-10 appearances across all sessions.
Pierre Gasly just missed out on the top 10 but finished ahead of Alexander Albon. The Haas pair were 13th and 14th, while Lance Stroll failed to make the top 10 for the first time this weekend. Esteban Ocon was within less than three tenths of his teammate but could only manage 16th. Logan Sargeant was 17th, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
Sauber continued to struggle for competitiveness, with Guanyu Zhou placed 19th, one second behind Ricciardo.
Several drivers had close calls on track, including Piastri running off at Turn 1. Russell and Norris’ side-by-side moment at Turn 10 attracted the attention of the stewards, as did Verstappen for an alleged “unnecessary slow speed.” All three were summoned to see the officials.
Monaco Grand Prix FP3: Leclerc stays on top of timesheets. Author：Sports UEFA.Please indicate the source when reproduced：https://www.sportsuefa.com/speedy-f1/9297.html
