Practice 3 Report - Leclerc fastest

Charles Leclerc
© Ferrari

Charles Leclerc completed a dominant run through all three practice sessions at the Monaco Grand Prix by topping FP3 on Saturday, while Lewis Hamilton crashed late in a dramatic final hour of running.

Leclerc, looking to claim back-to-back poles at his home race, underlined his form with a late 1m10.953s lap on soft tyres — nearly three tenths clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Ferrari driver had already edged ahead of Verstappen’s medium-shod best with a 1m11.179s, before finding further time as the track conditions peaked in the final minutes.

Verstappen, who voiced frustration throughout the session, could not find improvement on the red-walled C6 softs. “No grip at all,” he reported, struggling particularly at Turn 1. Despite multiple cooldown laps, the reigning world champion’s fastest effort came on the medium compound, which proved unexpectedly consistent.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were third and fourth for McLaren, both within half a second of Leclerc. Norris had briefly led during the mid-session shuffle but was ultimately outpaced as Ferrari and Red Bull turned up the wick.

Hamilton ended the session fifth quickest but brought out a red flag in the closing stages after losing the rear of his Ferrari at Massenet. The seven-time world champion clipped the wall with his right-rear tyre before sliding into the barriers front-first, causing significant damage and an early end to the session.

Behind the top five, Alex Albon impressed in sixth for Williams, ahead of Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson. Carlos Sainz was eighth in the second Williams, while Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top ten. George Russell, still struggling to find a rhythm, was 11th.

Fernando Alonso was 12th on medium tyres for Aston Martin, while Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, and the two Haas cars followed. All 20 drivers finished within two seconds of Leclerc in a closely packed field, with tyre management and traffic still playing key roles.

As qualifying looms, Ferrari holds the momentum — but on the tight, unforgiving streets of Monte Carlo, nothing is guaranteed. Leclerc may be the favourite, but pole in Monaco is never won until the final flag drops.