Monaco GP final practice and qualifying
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Hamilton suffers a lock-up at the Nouvelle Chicane, leaving the championship leader to take evasive action. Leclerc, meanwhile, gets very close to the outside wall at the Rascasse.
Vettel is out of danger for now, recording the 10th-best time. Still, he's only three tenths clear of elimination at the moment, so he'll need to do better.
Giovinazzi's under investigation for baulking Hulkenberg at the Rascasse - it seems he did 'nazzi the Renault coming up behind him
Magnussen improves to second place, he's having a very impressive Q1.
No surprises from P17 to P20, but Vettel's now in the drop zone at the moment.
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Verstappen improves to a 1m11.597s, as Gasly makes it a Red Bull 1-2.
Bottas moves up to second, two tenths slower than Verstappen but two tenths faster than Hamilton. Both Verstappen and Hamilton are now on quicker laps.
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Drop zone after the early attempts: 16 Hulkenberg, 17 Perez, 18 Stroll, 19 Russell, 20 Kubica.
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Leclerc moves up to third, four tenths off Verstappen's pace. Team-mate Vettel is currently on the bubble in 15th.
Hamilton is up to second, behind Verstappen but ahead of Albon, Magnussen and Kvyat. Bottas is down in 12th but is yet to manage a decently clean lap.
Stopwatch
Gasly briefly goes top, before Verstappen manages a 1m11.725s, almost a second quicker than his team-mate.
Quoth Jolyon Palmer, you have to be alert on a street circuit. There's a lot of traffic to be wary of, as shown by Giovinazzi giving Hulkenberg a wee block.
Ricciardo slots into third behind Leclerc and Magnussen. The Red Bulls have now joined the party, and are about to fire in reasonably quick laps.
Stopwatch
Leclerc goes top with a 1m12.825s. Pace isn't exactly phenomenal yet.
Bottas, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Albon slot in into the gap between Magnussen and Kvyat.
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Russell's first to complete a lap, and with 15 minutes now on the clock, everyone's going to have to get something banked just in case of any incidents. And here, that's very possible.
Stopwatch
Magnussen's initial benchmark is a 1m12.869s, six and a half tenths clear of his nearest rival Kvyat.
A number of cars have gone through the first sector, and Magnussen is quickest at 19.3. He's even quicker than Hamilton right now.
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Nine of the 10 teams are now out on track in full. Both Red Bulls remain in the pits. Every car is on softs.
Russell is first to head out on track in his Williams, ahead of Norris and Kvyat.
Green flag
The lights go green at pitlane exit to signal the start of qualifying.
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It's a lot sunnier than it was earlier, where the clouds loomed ominously over the harbour. Luckily (or unluckily, if you're a pluviophile (there's one for you, lexicographers) it looks like it might remain dry.
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Leclerc's looking to be the first Monegasque to win in Monte Carlo since Louis Chiron in 1931. Since then, only Leclerc and former Larrousse driver Olivier Beretta are the only other locals to have raced here in F1.
Leclerc was investigated for a VSC infringement after team-mate Sebastian Vettel poked his SF90 into the barrier at Sainte Devote, but escaped with a reprimand.
If you missed FP3, the session was topped by hometown hero Charles Leclerc, who beat Bottas by a hair's-breadth to rescue an otherwise tricky session for Ferrari.
Bonjour, mes amis, and welcome to qualifying at Monaco! Just under 15 minutes before the green light goes on, for what may be the most important Saturday session of the year.
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But that's your lot for practice! Next up: qualifying, which will get underway in two hours' time. And, as our esteemed Scott Mitchell has suggested, it could be a three-way fight for pole. How good would that be?
Join us then to find out who will begin the 77th Monaco Grand Prix from pole position.
Join us then to find out who will begin the 77th Monaco Grand Prix from pole position.
By: Geoff Creighton
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