As usual on the streets of Monte Carlo, the last free practice sessions, which take place before qualifying, are always approached with a little more calm than normal, since losing control of the car and having an accident here, in in most cases it means missing the qualifying session.
During the first minutes of FP3 , the big favorites stayed in the garage, leaving the rest of the cars to clean the track. Once on the asphalt, it didn’t take long for the Ferraris and the Red Bulls to demonstrate their superiority, constantly interspersing the first four positions.
Finally, Sergio Pérez led the time table with a 1:12.476 , ahead of Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, all of them very even until the last attempts of the first two, making it clear that the classification in the streets of the Principality It will be a heart attack.
Behind Pierre Gasly was placed first of the rest with his AlphaTauri, half a second from the best mark of the morning. Lando Norris, in the same tenth, finished sixth, with very good feelings despite the fact that he has not yet recovered 100% from his tonsillitis.
Lewis Hamilton was seventh, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and George Russell. Both Mercedes managed to get into the top ten of FP3, but still far from the places they really wish they were fighting for.
Fernando Alonso saved the honors of Alpine by completing the top 10 in the middle of a middle zone that could not be more even. Getting to Q3 will be expensive at this Monaco Grand Prix .
Results of Free Practice 3 of the 2022 F1 Monaco Grand Prix
Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | Km/h | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 27 | 1’12,476 | 165,754 | ||||
2 | 29 | 1’12.517 | 0.041 | 0.041 | 165.660 | ||
3 | 28 | 1’12,846 | 0.370 | 0.329 | 164,912 | ||
4 | 29 | 1’12.881 | 0.405 | 0.035 | 164.833 | ||
5 | 22 | 1’13,210 | 0.734 | 0.329 | 164,092 | ||
6 | 19 | 1’13.226 | 0.750 | 0.016 | 164.056 | ||
7 | 26 | 1’13.375 | 0.899 | 0.149 | 163.723 | ||
8 | 24 | 1’13.436 | 0.960 | 0.061 | 163.587 | ||
9 | 26 | 1’13.476 | 1.000 | 0.040 | 163.498 | ||
10 | 23 | 1’13.585 | 1.109 | 0.109 | 163.256 | ||
see results |
F1 Monaco GP FP3 Summary 2022
Unlike on Friday, the rush to get out onto the Monte Carlo asphalt in the early stages of Free Practice 3 was not excessive, in fact, after the first ten minutes had elapsed, only five cars had recorded a time.
At that moment, Alonso was leading the time table with a 1:14.757, ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Once the favorites took to the track, the first positions were once again occupied by those who will surely fight for pole position this Saturday afternoon.
At the wheel of his Ferrari, Leclerc was the first driver in that group to set a lap time, dropping the time to 1m14.114s, still over 1m14.
A few minutes later, Sainz was placed second, just behind his teammate, just over a tenth away. The first few laps for the Red Bulls were not as fast, with Pérez and Verstappen four tenths behind the Ferraris.
After Norris and Magnussen improved their times to move ahead of Alonso, fifth and sixth respectively, Leclerc , Verstappen and Sainz , in that order, were the first three drivers to drop below 1:14, with the Monegasque leading thanks to his 1:13,647.
As for the Mercedes , they seemed to confirm the problems of Friday, with Hamilton and Russell mixed among all the drivers in the middle zone, more than a second behind the best times.
Close to reaching the halfway point of FP3 and after Pérez climbed to first place with a 1:13.297, Lance Stroll caused the first yellow flag of the day by overbraking at turn 1 and visiting the famous Santa Devota run-off .
Resigned to not leading in its streets, Leclerc was the first to go down to 1:12.885, beginning to make the difference with respect to his rivals. Four tenths ahead of the Red Bulls and six ahead of his teammate, Sainz , who shortly afterwards would also visit Santa Devota.
With 20 minutes to go in the session, on new softs, Norris surprised everyone with a time that placed him in third place, bettering the times of two of the favorite drivers; Verstappen and a Sainz who had also been overtaken by Magnussen .
With the Ferraris and the Red Bulls still crouching, Gasly also improved and stole third position from Norris, together with a Tsunoda who placed eighth, confirming the good feelings of AlphaTauri.
Carlos Sainz was the first of the drivers above to set a time on those new softs, climbing to first place and, although Verstappen was a few thousandths behind, Pérez snatched the position with a 1:12.777, which did not last long , until Leclerc crossed the finish line with a 1:12.702.
In the last five minutes of FP3, Leclerc and Pérez got into a battle to see who finished Saturday morning with the best time and after a few laps exchanging the lead, the Mexican from Red Bull managed to set the best time with a 1: 12.476 , which left the Monegasque 0.041 seconds behind. While Sainz and Verstappen stayed further away.