F1: Perez nips Leclerc in final Monaco practice

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari looked unbeatable at Monaco this weekend, but in final practice Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ruined the party in his #11 Red Bull.

After a last minute rear suspension adjustment, Perez put up a time of 1m12.476s – just 0.041s faster than the Ferrari of Leclerc.

Red Bull were three tenths back yesterday, but they look right in the fight here today. Don’t discount Ferrari though, with just 0.041s separating Perez in P1 and Leclerc in P2.

Charles Lelcerc credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Carlos Sainz Jr. was third quick, 0.370s behind his Ferrari teammate.

Max Verstappen could only manage 4th best in the #1 Red Bull, 0.405s behind, as he struggles to keep pace here with his Mexican teammate.

There was then a big gap back to Pierre Gasly in 5th for AlphaTauri.

The only incident in the session was Lance Stroll whacking the barrier with the right side of his #18 Aston Martin. He was able to drive it back to the pits, his session over.

So is it a four-way fight for pole later on? Perez and Leclerc seem the pick of the bunch, but the other two can’t be discounted. Sainz was very quick here last year, and Verstappen can never be discounted on any track.

Behind, Mercedes improved as the session wore on, but their drivers certainly didn’t look overly happy out there. Hamilton sounded confused as to where his missing pace was, but he did at least finish in front of his teammate, which is rare. Can Russell beat him yet again in qualifying?

Lewis Hamilton – LAT Images for Mercedes F1

Practice 3 Results

POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME BEHIND
1 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m12.476s +0.000
2 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m12.517s +0.041
3 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m12.846s +0.370
4 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m12.881s +0.405
5 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m13.210s +0.734
6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m13.226s +0.750
7 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas 1m13.375s +0.899
8 Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team 1m13.436s +0.960
9 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas 1m13.476s +1.000
10 Fernando Alonso ESP BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m13.585s +1.109
11 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m13.645s +1.169
12 Mick Schumacher GER Haas F1 Team 1m13.827s +1.351
13 Sebastian Vettel GER Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m13.838s +1.362
14 Valtteri Bottas FIN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen 1m13.849s +1.373
15 Alexander Albon THA Williams Racing 1m13.882s +1.406
16 Daniel Ricciardo AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m14.101s +1.628
17 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m14.260s +1.784
18 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m14.639s +2.163
19 Guanyu Zhou CHN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen 1m14.861s +2.385
20 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m14.910s +2.434