Charles Leclerc once again headed the times in final practice at Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix to outline his credentials as the name to beat heading into qualifying.
The Monegasque produced the fastest lap time in the second practice session and replicated that across the last practice hour, ending up quickest with a 1:11.369s.
Leclerc held a near two-tenth advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in second, despite being close to the wall at the Nouvelle chicane and a lock-up at Rascasse.
Lewis Hamilton sustained a huge lock-up going into Turn 1 at Saint Devote and the damage to his tyres resigned his Mercedes car to a prolonged period in the garage.
The Briton would recover from that setback to rise to third on the timesheets on the Soft, though he was down relative to his encouraging pace earlier in the weekend.
Oscar Piastri showcased that McLaren boasts the speed to be in the battle at the sharp end as he propped up fourth, with Lando Norris a tenth back in eighth position.
Sergio Perez had continued to struggle throughout the session, but the Mexican posted a late improvement to rise into the top five, demoting George Russell to sixth.
Carlos Sainz has lagged behind Leclerc throughout all three practice hours this weekend and he was over six-tenths down on his Ferrari team-mate in seventh place.
Yuki Tsunoda will be bidding to record another Q3 appearance later on and he ended up ninth overall, eight-tenths and 10 spots above RB team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
Fernando Alonso rounded out the top-10 competitors as the leading Aston Martin drivers, edging out Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, Alex Albon’s Williams and the Haas drivers.
Lance Stroll was unable to match Alonso’s time and was down in 15th on the charts, with Esteban Ocon, Logan Sargeant and Ricciardo next up on the pecking order.
Valtteri Bottas had a snap on the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane and clipped his front right wheel against the barrier, breaking his suspension and ending his hour.
The Finn parked his Sauber car at Rascasse prompting a shortlived red flag period and ensuring that he ended the practice hour last with no time posted on the board.
