Monaco – Free Practice 3: Vettel’s message

60 minutes to convince before the Qualifications. The third and final free practice session of the weekend opened under a radiant sun, which will accompany the drivers throughout this Saturday. The track was already heating up, with nearly 36 degrees on the ground at the time of the green flag.

Lewis Hamilton gave an illusion for a while…

The two Saubers were the first on track for anecdotal times, quickly erased by the first significant times of the day, obviously on ultra-soft tires. This time, the Mercedes were back in the match against the Ferraris, and the lead changed hands several times. Comfortable this morning, Kimi Räikkönen set the pace, but it was indeed Sebastian Vettel who took the best time after 25 minutes of the session. 1:12.890 for the German, a few tenths off his record from Thursday (1:12.720 in FP2). Lewis Hamilton was credited with a time of 1:13.230, placing him temporarily in third position. The two Red Bulls and Kyvat’s Toro Rosso followed in the rankings, ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

The drivers were joyfully attacking this pre-qualifying dress rehearsal. A few made mistakes, including Kimi Räikkönen, who missed the braking point in the last corner. However, Iceman gently placed his front left tire along the barrier, thus avoiding major damage.

Meanwhile, the French drivers were also encountering some difficulties. Struggling with recurring braking issues, Romain Grosjean went into the escape road at Mirabeau. The Geneva-born driver complained over the radio about these problems, which were frequent and extremely debilitating in Monaco.

Esteban Ocon was hindered at the start of his flying lap by the other Haas, driven by Kevin Magnussen. A textbook example of the day’s events, which could be costly during the qualifying session.

… but Ferrari continues to impress!

Max Verstappen increased his pace in the last half-hour. Fast in the first sector, the Dutchman temporarily moved up to second place, less than a tenth behind the leader. But Sebastian Vettel continued to break into the tenths. Immediately responding to his teammate, the four-time world champion posted a time of 1:12.395. For the seventh and eighth time this weekend, the absolute track record was improved. Beyond his stratospheric time, the German even completed a third impressive lap with a similar time, within three thousandths.

Competition was being pushed to its limits. Thrilled by their top position in the rankings, Team Red Bull was attempting a big gamble by significantly modifying the settings of Verstappen’s RB13.

At Mercedes, the damage is already done. Valtteri Bottas did no better than 1:12.830. Worse still, Lewis Hamilton was eight-tenths behind, further handicapped by a last-minute yellow flag. The culprit was Esteban Ocon, who scraped the barrier a bit too closely at the exit of the Swimming Pool chicane, immediately breaking his front right suspension, leading him into the wall at the next corner.

This incident brought the drivers’ performances to an end, limiting them to installation laps in the final minutes of the session. As a symbol, both Ferraris came to a stop on the starting grid for a practice start, in the top two positions, with Vettel in pole position. The four-time world champion will clearly be the man to beat this afternoon. Mercedes suffers another uppercut with this gap beyond four-tenths.

Further down the standings, a nice surprise for Stoffel Vandoorne, who is tenth and in a position to secure his first Q3 of the season. The appointment is set for 1:45 PM for an exciting session!

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): @ScuderiaFerrari looking strong ahead of #Quali #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MtSOQmIeye

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 mai 2017

👀 FP3 in 6️⃣7️⃣ seconds… #MonacoGP 🇲🇨 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pNhjPu0ovA

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 mai 2017