F1 Monaco GP live commentary and updates - Qualifying
Live updates from Formula 1 qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix
Watch The RaceCenter Live Show
Live Standings
Live Text
Big lap from Norris, a 1m11.596s to put himself in the frame here this afternoon. Piastri follows him with a 1m11.791s, as the McLarens find time.
Sainz and Albon split the McLarens, but it's over to Leclerc who does a 1m12.091s to state his authority.
Hamilton is about 0.25s off his team-mate - but in comes Max Verstappen's 1m11.920s, as the Dutchman finds great pace on his opening run.
Stroll moves to the top with a 1m12.878s, just 0.001s over Bearman - then Gasly moves up to third on the mediums.
Norris then moves ahead of everyone with a 1m12.860s, which is immediately beaten by Piastri's 1m12.439s. They're getting closer to the ultimate pace here, whittling away at the times with each lap.
Albon then does a 1m13.153s, so he's picked up the pace - although we're still over 2s slower than we were earlier.
The big guns are on track now; Leclerc's going for a first tilt and does a 1m13.063s, but Liam Lawson finds a 1m12.946s after doing two warm-ups.
Both Williams drivers appear to be double warm-up laps - Ocon's already gone for a 1m15.294s, which is shaded by Bearman's 1m14.598s.
Hulkenberg then posts a 1m13.354s to go top, so he's gone for an immediate dip too.
Monaco Q1 is underway
Albon, Sainz, and Ocon are up first. There's a huge queue in the pitlane as the drivers try to get some space to do their thing.
The two Alpines begin the session on medium tyres, so they're already doing something different.
One of the interesting bits will be which tyres people choose to use. The C5 is a tiny bit slower than the C6s but seems to hold up slightly better over a lap - the C6s need a bit more in thermal management.
Q1 is up very shortly - get yourself a cup of tea, and then forget to drink it for the next 20 minutes while engrossed by the all-action opening stage.
T-15 minutes to Monaco qualifying
It's all going to be about traffic management - do you fuel up and stay out for a few laps, or try to get it all done first-time out?
And then there's drivers backing off at the exit of the Rascasse, drivers on cooldown laps, and various other things to be aware of as you set up for your own quali effort. It's going to be dicey, especially in Q1.
Hamilton's FP3 crash
On a lap, Hamilton washed out wide at Massenet (Turn 3) and hit the right-hand side wall, and eventually came to rest at Casino Square.
The stewards had noted the incident, purely to check if the pair of Antonelli and Ocon ahead had caused sufficient interference into the corner.
In reality, Hamilton took a different line into the corner over his previous hot lap and sustained a snap at the apex - which led to his interaction with the barrier.
Ferrari has had time to assess the damage, which didn't appear to be too extensive - so Hamilton should be good to go for qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images
Monaco FP3 recap
It was a surprisingly exciting free practice session earlier today, as the teams struggled to get the soft tyres to fire up over a single lap. Max Verstappen had led the way for much of the session with a lap on mediums, which he himself struggled to get near on the red-walled C6s.
Charles Leclerc found a way past, however; after much in the way of tinkering with prep laps and run-plans, the Monegasque tamed his home streets and set a 1m10.953s to go 0.28s faster than Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton then put his car in the wall at Massenet to bring an early end to the session.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
F1 Monaco GP qualifying
Good afternoon everyone, and welcome back - assuming you were along for the ride in FP3 earlier! Time is ticking down towards the most important qualifying session of the year, as 20 drivers tackle Monaco at breakneck speed.
It's going to be a fun hour - just over 30 minutes until the action begins.
By: Haydn Cobb
