These are the full outcomes from the concluding and last practice session leading up to the Monaco Grand Prix held in Monte Carlo.

Charles Leclerc of Ferrari was the fastest in the last practice session leading up to qualifying at Monaco, where the proceedings were cut short somewhat prematurely when Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barrier near the second Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc was fastest with the soft tire.

Nico Hulkenberg’s early 1:13.175 for Haas was quickly overhauled by several drivers breaking into the 1:12s – way off the pace of the Friday FP2 session as the track rubbered in again from being opened up to road traffic overnight.

In the initial part of FP3, the Ferrari’s speed was impressive when they clocked a time of 1:12.199, taking the lead. However, McLaren’s Lando Norris surpassed this mark with a lap at 1:12.126.

However, optimistically for Red Bull following their extensive update rollout on the RB21 at Imola, Max Verstappen led the way into the 1:11s with a time of 1:11.961 using the soft tire, showcasing his prowess as the Dutch pilot.

By using the medium tire and showcasing the potential of the C5 compound, Verstappen significantly increased his speed to clock a time of 1:11.233, putting him a tenth of a second ahead of Leclerc who was in second position.

With 20 minutes to go, and the drivers starting to explore the full potential of their cars ahead of the most critical qualifying session of the year, fresh soft tyres began to appear on track as the final runs began.

While Verstappen went faster in the first sector on his soft tyre, he failed to improve overall, suggesting the C6 compound was not staying alive for the entire lap. It was a similar story for Hamilton on his run, failing to improve on his first flying lap – although the two Williams drivers did find pace on the second lap on the softs.

Interestingly, despite several drivers improving in individual sectors, no one seemed able to match Verstappen’s 1:11.233 medium tyre lap, indicating that the soft tyre perhaps could not be kept alive for a full flying lap regardless of when the drivers leaned on it most throughout the three sectors.

With eight minutes to go, championship leader Oscar Piastri improved to second place to close the deficit to Verstappen down to 0.172 seconds before one of the drivers managed to topple Verstappen’s medium-tyre lap.

On his third lap on the soft, Leclerc popped in a 1:11.179 to go quickest, while Verstappen complained of an ‘undriveable’ soft tyre as he kept trying to beat his own medium tyre lap.

Hamilton’s initial purple effort in the first sector amounted to nothing when he faced significant traffic congestion in the subsequent segment. Meanwhile, Leclerc unleashed a strong lap during his fourth stint using the soft tire, dipping below the 1:20 mark with a time of 1:10.953—a margin just shy of three tenths ahead of Verstappen.

As time was running out, red flags were deployed when Hamilton collided with the barriers in his Ferrari during an intense lap around Casino Square. The force of hitting the barrier on the right side means that Ferrari must meticulously inspect the SF-25 to confirm there’s no harm done to the drivetrain or gearbox.

The main dilemma facing the qualifiers now seems to be choosing between sticking with the medium tire for quick initial laptimes or opting for the somewhat quicker soft tire which appears to need multiple laps to reach optimal performance—a strategy validated by Leclerc’s necessity to circle repeatedly before unlocking his speed.

Meanwhile, some other minor incidents played out as Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto reported a wall strike but was fortunate to escape damage, while Hulkenberg locked up and went straight on at the final corner – avoiding the wall and damage.

As traffic management posed a significant challenge during qualifying, Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda managed to avoid any scrutiny despite a minor incident where he slightly obstructed Racing Point’s Isack Hadjar coming out of the tunnel at low speed and also hindered Haas racer Esteban Ocon through the last turn.


COMPLETE REPORT – MONACO GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON DITCHES HIS FERRARI AS LECLERC TAKES POLE POSITION AND FRIDAY PRACTICE SESSION RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT QUALIFYING TIRES

2025 Monte Carlo Grand Prix Third Practice Session (FP3) Outcomes

  1. 1. Charles Leclerc

    Ferrari 1:10.953
  2. 2. Max Verstappen

    Red Bull +0.280
  3. 3. Lando Norris

    McLaren +0.294
  4. 4. Oscar Piastri

    McLaren +0.445
  5. 5. Lewis Hamilton

    Mercedes +0.563
  6. 6. Alex Albon

    Williams +0.715
  7. 7. Liam Lawson

    Racing Bulls +0.861
  8. 8. Carlos Sainz

    Williams +0.940
  9. 9. Yuki Tsunoda

    Red Bull +0.999
  10. 10. Kimi Antonelli

    Mercedes +1.060
  11. 11. George Russell

    Mercedes +1.113
  12. 12. Fernando Alonso

    Aston Martin +1.148
  13. 13. Nico Hulkenberg

    Haas +1.172
  14. 14. Pierre Gasly

    Alpine +1.241
  15. 15. Lance Stroll

    Aston Martin +1.249
  16. 16. Oliver Bearman

    Haas +1.298
  17. 17. Isack Hadjar

    Racing Bulls +1.318
  18. 18. Esteban Ocon

    Haas +1.546
  19. 19. Gabriel Bortoleto

    Sauber +1.648
  20. 20. Franco Colapinto

    Alpine +1.898

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