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2024 Monaco Grand Prix: Leclerc Leads Final Practice
Charles Leclerc once again set the pace in the final hour of practice ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Monegasque is chasing his first win around his home town circuit in any category and this year presents his best chance to do it, with Max Verstappen and Oracle Red Bull Racing still struggling to match the pace of Scuderia Ferrari.
The drivers spent most of the session on the soft tyres, completing qualifying simulations and getting up to speed ahead of one of the most important and exciting sessions on the F1 calendar – with overtaking hard to come by, track position is crucial.
Despite complaining throughout the session on the team radio, Verstappen managed to put a lap together good enough to go second but it was still +0.197s behind Leclerc’s time of 1:11.369 that was set earlier on during the soft compound runs.
Photo: Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Lewis Hamilton completed the top three and a solid set of practice sessions for Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, a further few tenths behind Verstappen. Oscar Piastri ended the hour in fourth, with Sergio Pérez and George Russell behind.
Carlos Sainz Jr. lacked the pace of his teammate, ending down in seventh, just in front of Lando Norris. Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso completed the last two places in the top ten.
Pierre Gasly finished eleventh and was followed by Alex Albon, Nico Hülkenberg, Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll.
Esteban Ocon was in sixteenth, ahead of the under-pressure Logan Sargeant. Daniel Ricciardo failed to match the pace he showed yesterday and ended the hour almost eight tenths back from his Visa Cash App RB teammate.
Guanyu Zhou was the slowest on track down in nineteenth, while his teammate was unable to set a lap after an issue caused him to hit the barrier early in the session, giving him no running on the soft tyres at all.
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:11.369 | 26 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:11.566 | +0.197s | 27 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:11.710 | +0.341s | 25 |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:11.901 | +0.532s | 25 |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:11.923 | +0.554s | 24 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:11.968 | +0.599s | 33 |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:11.979 | +0.610s | 26 |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:11.988 | +0.619s | 24 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:11.991 | +0.622s | 27 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:12.087 | +0.718s | 25 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:12.144 | +0.775s | 26 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:12.180 | +0.811s | 24 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:12.192 | +0.823s | 24 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:12.216 | +0.847s | 31 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:12.331 | +0.962s | 25 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:12.472 | +1.103s | 25 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:12.703 | +1.334s | 21 |
| 18 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:12.829 | +1.460s | 28 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:13.830 | +2.461s | 28 |
| 20 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 2 |
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