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.
Click Here: liverpool mens jersey
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.
Daniil Kvyat exclusive: Time to think about life after Red Bull
Romain Grosjean column: ‘I want Jules to always be with us’
Silbermann says … Easyjet-set
Chris Medland’s 2016 Monaco Grand Prix preview
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
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
Recent Comments