FP3: Leclerc completes Monaco practice clean sweep as Ferrari team mate Hamilton brings out red flags

Charles Leclerc completed a practice clean-sweep after setting the fastest time in FP3 ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, as the session finished under a red flag following a crash for Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton.

Drivers and teams embarked on the final hour of practice on the streets of the Principality to find as much performance from their cars as possible, before the most crucial Qualifying session of the season on Saturday afternoon.

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But with track conditions not at their optimum initially, many drivers remained in the pits for the opening 10 minutes with Franco Colapinto the first to set some timed laps on the soft tyre but which were several seconds off the pace from Friday.

Liam Lawson was the only other driver to push for a time during the same period, reporting over the radio that "the track is very low grip" to his Racing Bulls team.

Nico Hulkenberg moved his Kick Sauber to the top of the times on the medium tyre with a 1m 13.916s, but nearly found the barrier at the final corner later having locked up, before reversing and rejoining unharmed.

Hamilton slotted into second on the soft tyres, but the Ferrari driver complained that "the rear is sliding a lot" over the radio before times soon began to tumble as leading runners took to the circuit.

Lando Norris posted a 1m 12.970s on the softs, before his lap was bested by Friday pacesetter Leclerc as the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda jumped up to third and fourth on the 20-minute mark.

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Leclerc and Norris soon engaged in their own personal duel, as first the McLaren driver reasserted himself back at the top with a 1m 12.347s, Leclerc then set a new benchmark of 1m 12.199s, before Norris immediately replied and improved by less than one tenth.

Reigning World Champion Verstappen then asserted himself at the top, the first man of the day to dip below the 1m12s barrier as the Red Bull driver posted a 1m 11.961s with the medium tyre.

He lowered this further, first to a 1m 11.653s, then a 1m 11.233s, the latter a time which was faster than Leclerc's best from Friday as the session reached its halfway point.

Qualifying simulation runs took place over the final 15 minutes, with most drivers performing push, cooldown and push laps, with Verstappen reporting "I have no grip" on the soft tyre after failing to improve on his remaining laps.

With just over five minutes remaining, Leclerc moved back to the top on a 1m 11.179s on the soft tyre before the Ferrari driver set a 1m 10.953s, which would finish as the benchmark as the red flags flew with just under two minutes remaining.

Hamilton, who set the fifth fastest time, came to a stop at Casino Square having hit the barrier hard through Massenet, with the team in a race against time to repair the damage before Qualifying in just a few hours.

Verstappen finished second, just 0.280s adrift of Leclerc, as Norris and the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri completed the top four.

Alex Albon was the lead Williams in sixth, followed by Lawson and Carlos Sainz, as Tsunoda and Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli completed the top 10 ahead of team mate George Russell, who struggled for pace in 11th.

Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin, Hulkenberg and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly finished 12th-14th, with Lance Stroll next in the order, the Canadian set to serve a one-place grid drop for his clash with Leclerc in FP1.

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 as Isack Hadjar split the pair. Kick Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine's Colapinto completed the order.