FP3: Leclerc tops final practice, Hamilton suffers high-speed crash at Monaco

Having set the benchmark in both practice sessions on the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix, Ferrari's eight-time F1 race winner Charles Leclerc continued to impress in the third and final practice, going fastest ahead of reigning champion Max Verstappen. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo reports on the Monte Carlo final practice.

Despite Ferrari's struggles over a single lap so far this season, Charles Leclerc set the benchmark in the opening two practice on Friday at the Monaco Grand Prix. The home favourite continued this fine form in the third and final practice, setting a time of 1m10.953s to top the session.

Reigning champion Max Verstappen ended up second quickest, racking up a total of 23 laps. Interestingly, the Dutchman set his best lap time on Pirelli's mediums as he struggled to squeeze out the peak performance of the C6 compound in the final stages of the practice, complaining about instability on the red-walled tyres.

McLaren looked quick all through the session, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri taking third and fourth respectively.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton looked strong in final practice, but he suffered a crash at the end of final one-hour practice. The seven-time world champion whacked the barriers at Massenet on his final flying lap of FP3, bringing out the red flag and causing a premature end to the final hour of practice running.

Alex Albon was the lead Williams in sixth, while his team-mate Carlos Sainz took eighth, albeit he was almost a second adrift of Leclerc's benchmark time.

Racing Bulls displayed strong pace again, with Liam Lawson ending up 7th. However, his team-mate Isack Hadjar was left down in P17 despite racking up a total of 30 laps.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and George Russell complained about the competitiveness of their W16 in the final hour of practice. The Italian completed the top 10, but he was over a full second off the pace, while Russell struggled for pace in 11th.

Fernando Alonso looked fairly strong midway through the session, but he dropped down the order, finishing down in 12 for Aston Martin. His team-mate Lance Stroll, who has been given a one-place grid penalty for causing a crash with Leclerc in FP1, was just a tenth slower than the double world champion, but this deficit saw him end up 15th.

Alpine continued to struggle at Monte Carlo in FP3. Pierre Gasly finished 14th, while his team-mate Franco Colapinto brough up the rear of the field.

Ollie Bearman, who will serve a 10-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement in FP2, was P16 with Haas team Esteban Ocon 18th. Sauber drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto displayed relatively encouraging performance, taking 13th and 19th.