Max Verstappen TOP in FP3 as Lewis Hamilton CRASHES in final Monaco practice before qualifying

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen — Photo: © LAT Images

Monaco Grand Prix

Verstappen TOP in FP3 as Hamilton CRASHES in final Monaco practice before qualifying

Max Verstappen will be the man to beat in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix after he finished first in FP3

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Saturday 27 May 2023 14:02 Updated: 17:52

Max Verstappen will be the driver to beat ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix after he set the fastest lap time in FP3, before Lewis Hamilton crashed out late on in the session.

The Dutchman finished with a time of one-minute 12.776secs, ahead of Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll in second and third respectively.

With everyone out on the soft tyres, FP3 gave us the closest glimpse so far of what we can expect to see during qualifying in the final practice session of the weekend.

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Having topped the timesheets in FP2, Verstappen stamped his authority with a dominant display yet again in the RB19.

Hamilton, who finished half a second behind Verstappen in first during FP2, suffered a nightmare end to his practice after he went into the barriers at Mirabeau.

The fourth red flag across the three practice sessions saw FP3 brought to an early close.

Last year’s pole-sitter Charles Leclerc also had his own issues after he sent a clear message to the team that he was not pleased with the set-up.

The Monegasque, who finished in seventh, said the car was "bottoming like crazy" at the first part of the Swimming Pool and that things will need changing for the qualifying session.

After breaking last night's curfew to check over Lando Norris' power unit, McLaren would have been delighted to see the Briton finish in fifth.

The teams will now have just a few hours to fine-tune their cars ahead of a vital qualifying session.