F1 Monaco GP: Verstappen heads Red Bull 1-2 in FP3, Hamilton crashes

Sergio Perez posted the first representative laptime with a 1m15.641s to go top, managing to avoid a stopped Esteban Ocon in the tunnel as the Alpine driver reported a loss of power. The Frenchman returned his car to the pits after a swift reset at the steering wheel, but this forced him to spend the next 20 minutes in the garage.

Pierre Gasly found a glimmer of hope for Alpine by going quicker than Perez, but the Mexican responded with a 1m14.990s to go back to the top - holding firm from the Ferrari duo's first fast laps on softs.

Lando Norris then shaded Perez by 0.005s, until Lance Stroll placed a 1m14.763s on the table to briefly sit at the top of the session. Perez quickly dispatched the Canadian with a 1m14.377s, as the circuit began to progress in terms of available grip.

The 1m14s barrier was then broken by Verstappen, who went half a second clear of Perez, but was surpassed by fellow two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his 1m13.697s lap.

Perez returned to head the order as the opening half-hour of the session drew to a close, finding a tenth over Alonso, but Verstappen dug out 0.004s over his team-mate to restore a Red Bull 1-2.

The two swapped places once more, Perez logging a 1m13.289s as Carlos Sainz dropped into second just 0.09s away, until a 1m12.898s for Verstappen raised the bar once more.

While Perez hit back with a 1m12.849s, Verstappen put in a 1m12.776s to continue Red Bull's duopoly over the Saturday practice session. This was challenged later by Stroll, but the Canadian was just under a tenth shy of usurping Perez and could not split the RB19s out front.

As the session moved into the final 10 minutes, Kevin Magnussen initially had an off at Sainte Devote and went down the escape road. Moments after his recovery, the Haas driver came to a halt at Portier and produced a virtual safety car - stopping a potential Alonso tilt for the fastest lap as he had set the best first sector.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, attempts to free his car from a barrier after a minor crash in FP3 as marshals arrive to assist

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Moments after the session resumed at full speed, Hamilton put his Mercedes into the barrier on the exit of Mirabeau. The Briton had just flashed up with the fastest opening sector, but overshot his braking area and slid into the armco front-on.

As a result of the clearance of Hamilton's stranded Mercedes, the session was not resumed to ensure Verstappen's time could not be challenged any further.

Perez and Stroll were the only other drivers in the 1m12s, as Sainz was the fastest of those in the 1m13s bracket to finish the session in fourth.

Norris claimed the fifth best time over Gasly and Charles Leclerc, who reported struggles with the Swimming Pool section and stated that he needed to lift to exert any control over the Ferrari's trajectory.

Hamilton's crash denied him the chance to improve on eighth, as Ocon returned to the track after his earlier issues to grab the ninth-best time. Valtteri Bottas completed the top 10, fractions clear of George Russell.

F1 Monaco GP FP3 Results

Cla	Driver		Chassis	Engine	Time	Gap
1	Max Verstappen		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'12.776
2	Sergio Perez		Red Bull	Red Bull	1'12.849	0.073
3	Lance Stroll		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'12.942	0.166
4	Carlos Sainz		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'13.261	0.485
5	Lando Norris		McLaren	Mercedes	1'13.396	0.620
6	Pierre Gasly		Alpine	Renault	1'13.453	0.677
7	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	Ferrari	1'13.475	0.699
8	Lewis Hamilton		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'13.486	0.710
9	Esteban Ocon		Alpine	Renault	1'13.496	0.720
10	Valtteri Bottas		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'13.521	0.745
11	George Russell		Mercedes	Mercedes	1'13.590	0.814
12	Kevin Magnussen		Haas	Ferrari	1'13.624	0.848
13	Nico Hulkenberg		Haas	Ferrari	1'13.650	0.874
14	Fernando Alonso		Aston Martin	Mercedes	1'13.697	0.921
15	Yuki Tsunoda		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'13.738	0.962
16	Zhou Guanyu		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	1'13.772	0.996
17	Logan Sargeant		Williams	Mercedes	1'13.851	1.075
18	Alex Albon		Williams	Mercedes	1'13.930	1.154
19	Oscar Piastri		McLaren	Mercedes	1'13.998	1.222
20	Nyck de Vries		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	1'14.187	1.411
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