Antonelli leads the Ferrari pair after Bearman crashes in final practice

Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the quickest time of the weekend so far ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

He beat the Ferrari drivers in a session which was disrupted by a heavy crash for Haas driver Oliver Bearman.

Charles Leclerc was second-fastest for Ferrari but repeatedly complained about his car’s balance. He described his brakes as “horrendous” during his final run, during which he went off at the Nouvelle Chicane and oversteered wide at the Fairmont Hotel hairpin.

Antonelli led the way after the opening runs by a tenth of a second from his team mate. George Russell posted a quicker time through the first sector of the lap but lost his advantage and more by the finishing line. The Ferrari drivers, who set the pace yesterday, fell around two-tenths of a second behind the championship leaders.

Mercedes made the point of sending their drivers out on a fresh set of soft tyres with around 20 minutes to go. Antonelli immediately delivered the fastest lap of the session up to that point, with a 1’12.720, which Russell couldn’t match.

The team’s decision to run early was vindicated when Oliver Bearman crashed with just under a quarter of an hour to go. The Haas driver was overtaking Russell on the run towards Massenet and appeared to be slightly off-line when he lost control of his car on a bump.

The Haas bounced off the barrier on the outside of the corner and came to a rest. “Sorry guys,” said Bearman before climbing out. “It’s the fucking bottoming.”

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The barrier had to be checked for repairs, meaning the session did not resume until there was just four minutes left. Few drivers improved their times in the final flurry of laps, partly due to Alexander Albon sliding into the run-off area at Sainte Devote and temporarily bringing out yellow flags.

Max Verstappen took fifth for Red Bull ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. Gabriel Bortoleto produced an excellent time to put his Audi in among the front-runners in seventh place. The trio’s team mates came next, Isack Hadjar followed by Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg.

Franco Colapinto could only manage 19th in his Alpine after spinning into the barrier at the Fairmont Hotel hairpin. The slight contact damaged his car’s rear wing.

He was sandwiched by the two Cadillac drivers, both of whom reported more brake problems at the beginning of the session. However neither came to a smoky stop on the track as Sergio Perez did yesterday, and they were quick enough to relegate the Aston Martin drivers to the bottom of the times.

2026 Monaco Grand Prix third practice result

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2026 Monaco Grand Prix combined practice times

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