Vettel tops close FP3 ahead of Mercedes, Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time of a close final practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix as Red Bull’s potential was hidden.

The Ferrari driver was quickest with a 1:14.650, leaving him just 0.018s ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The defending champion was fastest in the first two sectors but only marginally up on Vettel’s time when he appeared to be distracted slightly by some traffic at Rascasse.

Nico Rosberg was third, 0.122s slower than Vettel, with Daniel Ricciardo only fourth quickest. Ricciardo had been fastest early on but was unable to complete a clean final lap on ultrasoft tyres due to a number of yellow flags, failing to improve with a late attempt.

Ricciardo’s lap of 1:14.807 was exactly 0.2s slower than his time from FP2 in a sign of how much more potential is in the Red Bull, with even Vettel failing to beat Thursday’s benchmark.

Max Verstappen had been second to his team-mate during the early session, but on what should have been his final attempt he locked up at Massenet and hit the barrier on the outside of the circuit. The right hand side of the car sustained light damage – with the front wing broken – but Verstappen was able to limp back to the pits and eventually squeezed in a lap good enough for fifth quickest right at the end of the session.

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Toro Rosso continued to impress with Daniil Kvyat sixth and Carlos Sainz seventh, with Kvyat looking especially dialled in as he grazed the inside barrier at the second part of the Swimming Pool chicane. Sergio Perez was eighth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen – who appeared to not get in a clean lap – and Nico Hulkenberg.

Jolyon Palmer had another big moment after his crash on Thursday morning, with the Renault driver losing the rear of his car at the high speed first part of the Swimming Pool. Spinning on exit, Palmer was lucky to just brush the outside barrier and damage his rear wing, sliding to a halt at the second chicane and managing to get back to the pits.

Numerous drivers ran off at Sainte Devote, with Palmer’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen eventually abandoning his car there late in the session. Vettel also had a big moment under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane but managed to keep his Ferrari out of the barrier.

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Pos Driver Team Time Laps

01
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:14.650
25

02
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:14.668
24

03
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
1:14.772
29

04
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:14.807
22

05
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:15.081
17

06
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:15.259
23

07
Carlos Sainz
Toro Rosso
1:15.324
26

08
Sergio Perez
Force India
1:15.368
21

09
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
1:15.555
22

10
Nico Hulkenberg
Force India
1:15.666
20

11
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:16.068
29

12
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:16.257
24

13
Jenson Button
McLaren
1:16.298
23

14
Valtteri Bottas
Williams
1:16.347
21

15
Esteban Gutierrez
Haas
1:16.406
23

16
Kevin Magnussen
Renault
1:16.412
13

17
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:16.527
27

18
Felipe Nasr
Sauber
1:16.867
23

19
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:17.038
32

20
Jolyon Palmer
Renault
1:17.482
17

21
Pascal Wehrlein
Manor
1:17.595
32

22
Rio Haryanto
Manor
1:18.180
34