ANTONELLI LEADS FINAL MONACO PRACTICE AS FERRARI AND MERCEDES FIGHT AT THE FRONT
The final practice session in Monaco ahead of qualifying saw Mercedes and Ferrari emerge as the main reference points once again, with Kimi Antonelli finishing fastest in FP3. The Mercedes driver set the benchmark ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the Ferrari duo finishing roughly three tenths behind.
Mercedes showed clear improvement compared to Friday, with George Russell taking fourth place and looking more comfortable in the car on the soft tyres. Max Verstappen followed closely in fifth, keeping himself in the fight at the front despite not fully completing a clean qualifying simulation.
McLaren had a quieter session, with Oscar Piastri in sixth and Lando Norris down in ninth. Between them were Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, while Nico Hülkenberg completed the top ten.
The session took place in dry and warm conditions, with teams focusing heavily on qualifying preparation using soft tyres. Early in the session, Ferrari looked strong once again, with Leclerc initially setting the pace before Hamilton briefly moved ahead. However, as track evolution increased, the order at the front continued to change frequently.
Antonelli steadily improved throughout the session and eventually set the fastest time with a strong lap of 1:12.720, confirming Mercedes’ progress after a more difficult Friday. Ferrari also showed solid one-lap performance, although both drivers were running different programmes, with Hamilton focusing more on long-run work while Leclerc concentrated on qualifying simulations.
The session was interrupted by a red flag around ten minutes from the end when Oliver Bearman crashed heavily at the Massenet corner, damaging the rear of his Haas. The interruption came during a crucial phase of qualifying preparation and reduced the amount of clean running available for all teams.
After the restart, drivers had only a short window to complete final qualifying runs. Traffic became a major issue, preventing several drivers from putting together clean laps. Leclerc in particular was affected, while others struggled to find space on the narrow Monaco streets.
Overall, Mercedes and Ferrari appeared closely matched heading into qualifying, with Red Bull also within reach. McLaren, however, remained slightly further back and struggled to consistently challenge the front-running pace over a single lap.
The session ended with Antonelli on top, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton, then Russell and Verstappen, with Piastri completing the top six in a competitive but fragmented final practice before the most important qualifying session of the season.
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