After the third free practice session, Charles Leclerc is the absolute favorite for today’s qualifying in Monaco. The Ferrari driver completed the 3.337-kilometer street circuit in the principality in 1:11.369 minutes, leaving Max Verstappen behind. While Leclerc held back in the final battle and watched the end from the garage, the reigning Formula 1 world champion risked everything until the last lap and finally came within two tenths of Leclerc.
The result: As usual, all drivers drove on soft tires in preparation for the most important qualification of the Formula 1 season. Leclerc’s time was a little slower than the day before, but the track did not seem to have been in optimal condition. Behind Leclerc and Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton finished in third place, three and a half tenths behind.
Oscar Piastri finished the session in fourth place, just over half a second behind Sergio Perez and George Russell. Carlos Sainz was seventh, Lando Norris eighth. Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso completed the top 10. Nico Hülkenberg finished in 13th place, just ahead of teammate Kevin Magnussen.
The incidents: After just over ten minutes, the session was over for Valtteri Bottas. The Finn touched the wall with his right front wheel at the exit of the swimming pool passage and broke the tie rod of the front suspension. On the way back to the pits, Bottas had to stop in Rascasse because he could no longer make it around the tight corner with the damaged suspension.
After lengthy attempts to maneuver the car, race director Niels Wittich had to interrupt the session for four minutes to have the car recovered. The scene was given a slightly slapstick character because Lewis Hamilton was initially unable to get past the Sauber in the narrow spot. Only after several maneuvers was Hamilton finally able to turn into the pits.
There is still plenty of work for the stewards between practice and qualifying. Shortly before the end of the session, Lando Norris and George Russell got in each other’s way at the exit of the tunnel. The McLaren driver complained loudly on the radio – the stewards are investigating. The same thing happened with Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver ran into the Red Bull driver in the tunnel. After practice, the stewards will look to see whether Verstappen was driving unnecessarily slowly.
The technology: Mercedes opted for the new front wing for George Russell, which was tested in the first free practice session on Friday. The Silver Arrows only have one example of the extensively modified wing available this weekend. Lewis Hamilton is sticking with the old specification, which he also had on his car on Friday. The vibration problems on Russell’s steering wheel were eliminated overnight.
The weather: Just in time for training, the skies over Monaco cleared up. The rich and beautiful were able to watch the session from their yachts in pleasant 21 degrees. While the water temperature was not reported, 48 degrees Celsius were measured on the asphalt. Similar conditions are expected for today’s qualification in Monaco.