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Sebastian Vettel leads ultra-close final Monaco Grand Prix practice

Sebastian Vettel set the pace in final Formula 1 practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, edging out Lewis Hamilton by just 0.018 seconds

Ferrari driver Vettel clocked a 1m14.650s on the ultra-soft tyre to head a top four covered by only 0.157s.

Hamilton was on course to go quickest, having set the fastest first and second sector times, but he encountered traffic in the final few corners.

It was an improved showing from Mercedes, which conceded it had homework to do after being outpaced by Red Bull on Thursday.

Nico Rosberg was third fastest, 0.122s off the pace, with Daniel Ricciardo fourth and his team-mate Max Verstappen fifth.

Verstappen hit the barrier at Massenet late on, understeering wide as he came over the crest and locking up before sliding into the barrier.

He recovered to the pits with suspension damage and his Red Bull team did an impressive job to get him back out for a run at the end of the session.

Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat was a promising seventh, edging his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr by 0.065s.

Kimi Raikkonen had a poor first sector on his qualifying-simulation and ended up ninth, 0.905s adrift of his pacesetting Ferrari team-mate Vettel.

Sergio Perez was eighth with his Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg completing the top 10.

Williams continued its struggles in Monte Carlo. Felipe Massa was a low-key 11th and team-mate Valtteri Bottas 14th.

Fernando Alonso was the leading McLaren in 12th, 0.041s quicker than team-mate Jenson Button.

Renault faced repair work for the third successive session as Jolyon Palmer glanced the barrier when he spun in the first part of the Swimming Pool complex in the opening minutes.

PRACTICE THREE TIMES

Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m14.650s - 25
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m14.668s 0.018s 24
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.772s 0.122s 29
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m14.807s 0.157s 22
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Renault 1m15.081s 0.431s 17
6 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso/Ferrari 1m15.259s 0.609s 23
7 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso/Ferrari 1m15.324s 0.674s 26
8 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m15.368s 0.718s 21
9 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m15.555s 0.905s 22
10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India/Mercedes 1m15.666s 1.016s 20
11 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m16.068s 1.418s 29
12 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m16.257s 1.607s 24
13 Jenson Button McLaren/Honda 1m16.298s 1.648s 23
14 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 1m16.347s 1.697s 21
15 Esteban Gutierrez Haas/Ferrari 1m16.406s 1.756s 23
16 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1m16.412s 1.762s 13
17 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1m16.527s 1.877s 27
18 Felipe Nasr Sauber/Ferrari 1m16.867s 2.217s 23
19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m17.038s 2.388s 32
20 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m17.482s 2.832s 17
21 Pascal Wehrlein Manor/Mercedes 1m17.595s 2.945s 32
22 Rio Haryanto Manor/Mercedes 1m18.180s 3.530s 34

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