Scuderia Ferrari HP set the pace across both Friday practice sessions. All whilst current Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli set the standard throughout today’s session.
In contrast, last year’s pole-sitter and race winner, Lando Norris, endured a disrupted day. The Briton was forced to stop on track during Friday running and enters Saturday’s sessions trying to play catch-up.
Overnight Modifications
Last night, both McLaren Mastercard and Cadillac breached curfew overnight as their crews worked to address technical issues. Sergio Perez’s running was interrupted by a brake fire, while Norris also encountered reliability concerns.
Pirelli has elected to utilise the C3, C4 and C5 compounds for Saturday’s running after the soft tyre proved difficult to manage during FP2. The overnight adjustment follows feedback from teams, with several drivers struggling to gain grip throughout the track.
The Issues Don’t Stop
Cadillac’s troubles continued during Saturday’s running, with Valtteri Bottas reporting smoke from his brakes. The Finn was forced to limp back to the pits, allowing the team to investigate and address the issue.
The incident will be of particular concern to Cadillac, as it marks the second brake-related problem for the team this weekend. With both cars now affected, the team faces a potentially significant reliability issue as it works to understand the root cause ahead of the remainder of the event.
Traffic Messages
In true Monaco style, traffic quickly became a major talking point once all 22 cars took to the circuit. With the narrow streets offering little room to manoeuvre, drivers frequently encountered slower cars while attempting flying laps. This is prompting a flurry of radio messages up and down the pit lane.
Despite the congestion, Charles Leclerc rose to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1:13.748, finishing the session 0.145 seconds clear of George Russell.
Isack Hadjar continued to show a measured approach around the streets of Monaco. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver appearing keen to rebuild confidence following his FP1 crash. Rather than immediately pushing to the limit, Hadjar opted for a more cautious programme.
The key question now is whether the Frenchman can gradually increase his pace as the session progresses. With qualifying looming later today, Hadjar will need to regain confidence quickly if he is to maximise his chances around a circuit where track position is often everything.
Mid-Field Impressing
Audi continued their impressive form throughout the weekend, placing both cars inside the top 10 once again after achieving the same feat in FP1 and FP2.
The result is another encouraging sign for Audi, with both drivers consistently featuring near the front of the field. Audi appears well-positioned heading into the all-important qualifying session.
While Audi continued to impress, attention briefly shifted to the front-runners as both Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc were forced to abort flying laps. Antonelli had been showing particularly strong pace prior to backing out of his attempt, suggesting there was still more performance to come from the young Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS driver.
Antonelli Tops The Times
After bolting on a fresh set of tyres, Kimi Antonelli’s charge to the top of the timesheets finally began. The Mercedes driver immediately found another level of performance, producing a lap that the Ferraris were unable to match.
Charles Leclerc could get no closer than 0.327 seconds adrift, while Lewis Hamilton sat 0.331 seconds behind the benchmark. With Antonelli looking increasingly comfortable around the streets of Monaco, the young Italian was emerging as a genuine contender ahead of qualifying.
Red Flag
Oliver Bearman’s session took a dramatic turn as he climbed the hill past George Russell. The TGR Haas driver appeared to give Russell as much room as possible, positioning his car wide to stay clear of the Mercedes.
However, whether distracted by the traffic around him or simply carrying a fraction too much speed, Bearman drifted slightly wide and clipped the barrier. The contact scattered debris across the circuit, bringing a premature end to his own run and the other drivers.
As the final minutes of the session ticked away, marshals worked diligently to clear the debris and recover the scene of Bearman’s accident. With valuable track time slipping away, teams and drivers watched on anxiously, aware that every minute lost could prove costly ahead of qualifying later in the day.
Antonelli Wasted No Time
When the green flag was waved, Kimi Antonelli wasted no time getting back up to speed. The young Italian attacked the streets of Monaco with confidence, stringing together a superb lap to return to the top of the timesheets.
It was another statement performance from the Mercedes driver, who has looked increasingly comfortable throughout the weekend. The question now is whether Antonelli can translate that impressive practice pace into qualifying.