Charles Leclerc laid down back-to-back fastest laps to clinch the practice hat-trick at the Monaco Grand Prix, his soft tyre lap 0.280s faster than Max Verstappen on the mediums.

The session ended two minutes early when Lewis Hamilton crashed at Massenet, hitting the barrier and damaging the front right of his Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc clinches practice hat-trick in Monaco

With only one hour of practice remaining before the all-important qualifying session, Liam Lawson and Lewis Hamilton queued at the end of the pit lane – as Max Verstappen strolled down to the Red Bull garage. Kimi Antonelli also wasn’t in a hurry to go out, instead chatting to his race engineer Pete Bonnington in the Mercedes garage.

Franco Colapinto put in the opening gambit, 1:15.8, over four seconds slower than Charles Leclerc’s P1 time from Friday. Only five drivers completed timed laps in the opening 10 minutes, with Nico Hulkenberg P1 on a 1:14.0.

Ferrari and McLaren joined the action, immediately onto the soft Pirellis, with Lewis Hamilton going quickest, followed by Lando Norris, and then Charles Leclerc. A 1:12.7 for the local favourite. The Mercedes team-mates and Fernando Alonso were the last drivers to enter the fray, having waited almost a third of the session before going out.

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With all 20 drivers out on track, traffic proved problematic as Hamilton got in the way of Carlos Sainz, Colapinto tripped up Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda was noted – but cleared -for impeding Isack Hadjar in the tunnel, and Verstappen “completely blocked” Esteban Ocon.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Bortoleto asked Sauber to check his car as he “hit the wall”.

Leclerc was quickest of all at the midpoint, a 1:11.532, a tenth up on Verstappen with Hamilton third fastest.

Colapinto was at it again against Oliver Bearman, dawdling on the racing line before seemingly looking in his mirrors and moving to block the Haas.

Having resolved Friday’s understeer issues, Verstappen overhauled Leclerc while Tsunoda popped up into the top six, slotting in behind Alex Albon on the timesheet. Carlos Sainz, although P11, told Williams that he had a “good feeling” in the car, he just needed to be “quicker”.

Swapping to the soft tyres late in the session, Verstappen went purple in the opening sector but lost time through big slides at Turn 8 and again in the final corner. He then complained about a lack of grip on his next lap. He wasn’t able to better his medium tyre lap. Hamilton found a bit of time but remained P5, and Sainz improved to sixth place.

Having seemingly figured out how to get the soft tyres to last, Leclerc went quickest with a 1:10.9 while Norris and Piastri improved their times to finish third and fourth fastest. The one driver who struggled was Verstappen, P2 by on the medium Pirellis.

Hamilton brought out the red flag with two minutes left on the clock as he binned his Ferrari at Massenet, damaging the front right of the car. The session was not restarted.

Monaco GP FP3 times

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:10.953
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.280
3 Lando Norris McLaren +0.294
4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.445
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.563
6 Alexander Albon Williams +0.715
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.861
8 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.940
9 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +0.999
10 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.060
11 George Russell Mercedes +1.113
12 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.148
13 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +1.172
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.241
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.249
16 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.298
17 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.318
18 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.546
19 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.648
20 Franco Colapinto Alpine +1.898

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