Red Bull Racing has the speed to compete with Ferrari for pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix. In the third and final free practice session in Monte Carlo, Sergio Pérez was fastest on Saturday, ahead of the two Ferrari drivers. Max Verstappen was again fourth.
With a time of 1.12.476, Pérez set the fastest lap just before the end of the session. The Mexican was 0.041 seconds faster than home favorite Charles Leclerc and 0.370 seconds faster than Carlos Sainz.
Just like in the first two free practice sessions, Verstappen set the fourth time, 0.405 seconds behind Leclerc’s time. The Dutchman only used one set of soft tires in training and seemed to focus less on the fast lap times. Both Ferrari drivers used two sets of tires.
On Friday, Ferrari was still supreme in Monaco and the Red Bull drivers didn’t really come close to the times of Leclerc and Sainz. Verstappen then announced that his team had to work hard with the set-up to close the gap. On Saturday at 4 p.m., qualifying should show whether the team has succeeded, but the times from the third practice are encouraging.
Top ten third free practice
- 1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): 1.12.476
- 2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): +0.041
- 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): +0.370
- 4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): +0.405
- 5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri): +0.734
- 6. Lando Norris (McLaren): +0.750
- 7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): +0.899
- 8. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): +0.960
- 9. George Russell (Mercedes): +1,000
- 10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine): +1.109
Mercedes again far from top
For Mercedes, hopes are slowly fading that the team can make a fist in Monaco. George Russell finished ninth in final practice, with a time a second slower than Pérez’s. Lewis Hamilton did slightly better with seventh time, but the Briton was also nine tenths short on the fastest lap.
Pierre Gasly did a good job in his AlphaTauri. The Frenchman finished fifth, although he conceded 0.734 seconds on Pérez. Lando Norris clocked sixth in his McLaren and again outperformed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian, who crashed on Friday, finished sixteenth.