Kimi Antonelli Leads Final Monaco Practice with Blistering Lap

Kimi Antonelli, driving for Mercedes, ended Ferrari's dominance in Monaco by setting the fastest lap in the final practice session. Antonelli's time of 1m 12.720s on soft tyres left him over three-tenths ahead of Charles Leclerc, whose late-session brake troubles thwarted any chance of improvement.

The final practice offered teams a last opportunity to refine their setups on the iconic street circuit before the crucial qualifying session. As the session began, McLaren updated everyone on the extensive repairs to Lando Norris's car after his FP2 stoppage, which involved breaking curfew to replace key components.

The session saw early action with Ferrari's Leclerc and Hamilton, joined by Aston Martin, Cadillac, and Racing Bulls drivers, hitting the track. However, Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas soon reported brake issues, reminiscent of teammate Sergio Perez's fiery FP2 troubles.

In the early runs, Leclerc set a benchmark of 1m 15.184s, which was quickly eclipsed by Hamilton and then Norris, as times began to drop on the soft tyres. Mercedes' George Russell and Antonelli then raised the bar, challenging Ferrari's earlier showing.

Midway through, a brief yellow flag was waved when Franco Colapinto spun his Alpine at the hairpin, but he managed to recover without incident. Alex Albon also had a minor misadventure at Sainte Devote.

Antonelli's standout lap came shortly before a red flag, caused by Ollie Bearman's Haas crashing at Massenet. The session resumed briefly, but no one could match Antonelli's pace as Leclerc, struggling with brake issues, settled for second ahead of Hamilton. Russell secured fourth place, followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.

Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto continued his strong form, finishing seventh, with teammate Nico Hulkenberg in tenth. The session wrapped up with teams gearing up for the high-stakes qualifying, set to start at 1600 local time.