Mercedes finds pace as Kimi Antonelli leads Ferrari in frantic final practice

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Monaco GP 2026 FP3 results: Antonelli takes centre stage

After two highly encouraging practice sessions for Ferrari, the final hour of running before qualifying delivered another fascinating chapter in the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. With grid position often deciding the outcome of the race around the streets of Monte Carlo, FP3 represented one final opportunity for teams to fine-tune their setups before the most important session of the weekend.

Ferrari arrived in the session hoping to confirm the strong form displayed on Friday, while Mercedes looked to close the gap despite concerns within the team about how well the W17 would adapt to the unique demands of Monaco. Red Bull remained a potential threat with Max Verstappen, while McLaren aimed to recover after a challenging opening day.

Track conditions were favourable throughout the session, with air temperatures at 23°C, track temperatures reaching 28°C, humidity at 59% and a light northerly wind blowing at 1.7 m/s. As expected, Pirelli supplied the softest tyre range available for the 2026 season: the C3 Hard, C4 Medium and C5 Soft compounds.

Despite Ferrari’s impressive Friday pace, team boss Frédéric Vasseur continued to preach caution. Monaco has a habit of rewriting expectations in a matter of minutes, and the Frenchman knows that lap times in practice count for very little compared to what happens when qualifying begins. For Ferrari, the focus remained on preparation rather than celebration.

Ferrari starts early as Leclerc and Hamilton begin the action

Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to head out when the green light appeared, immediately taking to the circuit on the soft compound. Charles Leclerc followed shortly afterwards as Ferrari sought to evaluate overnight setup changes implemented after Friday’s running.

Leclerc initially set the benchmark with a lap of 1:15.184, although that was naturally well above Friday’s best times. Improvements came quickly. Hamilton soon moved ahead of his teammate by 0.728 seconds despite a visible mistake at Rascasse.

After 15 minutes, Lando Norris briefly climbed to the top of the timesheets, edging Hamilton by just 0.015 seconds. Max Verstappen also entered the conversation by moving into third place, while George Russell then became the first driver to break into the low 1:13s with a 1:13.902.

Ferrari quickly responded. Charles Leclerc found additional pace and jumped ahead of Russell by 0.154 seconds to reclaim first place.

Kimi Antonelli emerges as Mercedes’ leading contender

Having endured a relatively quiet Friday, championship leader Kimi Antonelli announced himself in style during FP3. Around 20 minutes into the session, the Mercedes driver produced a lap of 1:13.374 to move into first place.

The performance suggested Mercedes had made meaningful overnight progress. George Russell reinforced that impression by climbing to second place, just one hundredth of a second behind his younger teammate.

The battle at the front intensified as Leclerc reclaimed top spot on his 15th lap using the same set of soft tyres. His advantage over Antonelli was only 0.019 seconds, but the Mercedes driver immediately struck back with a 1:13.137 to return to the top after 25 minutes.

At Ferrari, the workload was split between the two drivers. Charles Leclerc focused on qualifying-style runs, while Lewis Hamilton concentrated on longer stints and race pace analysis.

Antonelli appeared capable of going even faster during one of his attempts, setting personal best sectors in the opening two parts of the lap before encountering a slow-moving Cadillac and abandoning the effort.

Late qualifying simulations and Bearman’s red flag

As the session entered its final 20 minutes, all of the leading teams fitted fresh soft tyres for one last qualifying simulation.

Antonelli became the first driver to break into the 1:12s, producing an impressive 1:12.720. Charles Leclerc’s initial response was compromised by traffic at Rascasse, while Lewis Hamilton climbed to second place, 0.331 seconds behind the Mercedes driver.

On his next push lap, Charles Leclerc improved enough to edge ahead of Lewis Hamilton by just four thousandths of a second, securing second place behind Antonelli.

With 15 minutes remaining, the session was interrupted by a red flag following an accident for Oliver Bearman. The Haas driver lost control on the climb through Massenet while overtaking George Russell and running onto the dusty outside line. The impact brought proceedings to a halt and significantly reduced the amount of time available for final improvements.

The session resumed with only four minutes left on the clock. Heavy traffic and the limited remaining time prevented any major changes to the order.

Ferrari remains in the fight ahead of qualifying

When the chequered flag fell, Mercedes emerged with renewed confidence, particularly thanks to Antonelli’s standout pace. Ferrari remained firmly in contention with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finishing second and third respectively, although there were signs of the thermal management challenges that have occasionally affected the SF-26 on the soft compound this season.

There was also a familiar concern for Charles Leclerc, who reported brake-related issues over team radio during the closing stages of the session.

Nevertheless, Ferrari enters qualifying as a genuine contender. With overtaking notoriously difficult around Monaco, the battle for pole position promises to be one of the most important moments of the 2026 Formula 1 season so far.