Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheet in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, beating Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton by more than three tenths of a second.

The session began with a steady flow of cars heading out on soft Pirelli tyres, with Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc, Lance Stroll, Liam Lawson and Fernando Alonso among the first to leave the pit lane. Sergio Perez and Franco Colapinto soon followed, also on softs, with the Cadillac cars showing as using a previously run set.

Leclerc set the early pace with a lap of 1:15.184, just 0.062s ahead of Hamilton, before Lando Norris, Arvid Lindblad and Esteban Ocon joined the action. Hamilton then moved to the top with a 1:14.390 as Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly headed out, while Norris’ first push lap, a 1:15.176, left him 0.786s off the early benchmark.

Norris soon improved to a 1:14.375 to take P1, but the order continued to change rapidly. Max Verstappen briefly went quickest in the opening sector before George Russell bettered that marker, and although Verstappen’s lap faded to a 1:14.509, Russell moved to the top on 1:13.902. Hamilton improved to 1:14.003, but Leclerc then jumped ahead with a 1:13.748.

Oscar Piastri joined the session and posted a 1:13.945 to slot ahead of Hamilton, while Antonelli then seized P1 with a 1:13.374, 0.109s clear of Russell, who had improved to 1:13.483. The championship leader continued to find pace, lowering the benchmark to 1:13.137. Leclerc responded with a 1:13.355 to move ahead of Russell, but it was not enough to displace Antonelli.

Verstappen, who had completed only six laps in the opening part of the session, returned to the track on the same set of soft tyres he had used earlier. Around the halfway mark, there was a brief yellow flag after Colapinto half-spun at the hairpin, with the rear of his car appearing to step out as he tried to turn in. Verstappen then improved to 1:13.969, still 0.832s adrift of Antonelli.

Lawson also had a moment on the exit of the Swimming Pool section, where he hit a bump and the rear of his car stepped out. The New Zealander managed to hold the slide and avoid the barriers, having clipped them a couple of times on Friday.

With 20 minutes remaining, the leading drivers switched to new soft tyres for qualifying simulations. Antonelli immediately went purple in the first two sectors and, despite not setting a personal best in the final sector, lowered the benchmark significantly to 1:12.720.

Leclerc set personal bests in the first two sectors of his next attempt but was forced to back off when he encountered traffic around Rascasse. Hamilton, meanwhile, appeared to be struggling with the balance of his Ferrari, the rear looking eager to rotate, but he still managed a 1:13.051 to sit 0.331s behind Antonelli. Leclerc then strung together a cleaner lap to post a 1:13.047, moving marginally ahead of his team-mate but still short of Antonelli’s time.

With 15 minutes remaining, the session was red-flagged after Oliver Bearman crashed at Massenet, leaving debris on the track. The Haas driver was able to get out of the car unaided and was reported to be okay. The Briton had been coming up the hill past Russell, who was positioned as wide as possible and out of the way, before the Haas lost the rear and clipped the barriers.

Once Bearman’s car was cleared, the session resumed with just four minutes left on the clock. However, with so little time remaining, there were few further improvements, leaving Antonelli on top ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton as the field turned its attention to qualifying.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:12.720 22 165.198
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:13.047 0.327 32 164.458
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:13.051 0.331 30 164.449
4 George Russell Mercedes 1:13.483 0.763 23 163.482
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:13.662 0.942 23 163.085
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:13.698 0.978 20 163.005
7 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:13.820 1.100 27 162.736
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 1:13.877 1.157 25 162.610
9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:14.006 1.286 24 162.327
10 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 1:14.050 1.330 22 162.230
11 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:14.278 1.558 24 161.732
12 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:14.336 1.616 26 161.606
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 1:14.480 1.760 22 161.294
14 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:14.487 1.767 18 161.279
15 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:14.587 1.867 27 161.062
16 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:14.801 2.081 24 160.602
17 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 1:14.918 2.198 24 160.351
18 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 1:14.945 2.225 19 160.293
19 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 1:15.179 2.459 21 159.794
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 1:15.451 2.731 17 159.218
21 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 1:15.567 2.847 26 158.974
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 1:15.921 3.201 22 158.232