GP of Monaco: Max Verstappen tops last practice as Lewis Hamilton crashes in front of qualifying
In the final practice in Monaco, Max Verstappen narrowly beat Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez; After exhibiting potential, Lewis Hamilton crashes an upgraded Mercedes; watch Monaco GP Qualifying
Max Verstappen edged Red Bull partner Sergio Perez in definite practice at the Monaco Terrific Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed in front of what vows to be an exhilarating passing meeting later on Saturday.
Big showdown pioneer Verstappen's season of 1:12.776 saw him finish seven hundredths of a second clear of his closest challenger in the drivers' standings, Perez.
Alonso has outperformed Verstappen in every qualifying session this season, and his teammate Lance Stroll was just 0.166s behind Verstappen in third indicates that he has more to offer.
Carlos Sainz, who led the first practice for Ferrari on Friday, finished in fourth place, and his teammate Charles Leclerc came in seventh. Sainz's hopes of getting a third pole at his home track appeared to be fading because the SF23 had trouble gripping the track.
In the meantime, Hamilton, who finished eighth, set the fastest first sector of the session before losing control and hitting the barrier at Mirabeau's exit, triggering a red flag.
The significantly improved W14 appears to have potential, but teammate George Russell, who also struggled on Friday, could only finish 11th.
After the first practice on Friday, many people were even more convinced that the Red Bull team, which had completely dominated the first five races, would face the most difficult challenge of the season in Monaco before the weekend.
Despite being criticized for his setup, Verstappen finished sixth, but since then, two time-topping efforts have established him as the driver to beat going into Qualifying.
However, the difficulty of overtaking in Monaco means that qualifying could be decisive, in contrast to other races, where Red Bull has been confident that their stunning straight-line speed.
It is unclear whether Red Bull actually has a slight advantage over Alonso, but it could be overcome by even the tiniest error, traffic disruption, or simply track evolution.
In addition, Hamilton's crash, a seven-time world champion, demonstrates that anything can happen at the stunning street circuit, where qualifying has been postponed in the past two years due to crashes.
Even though there aren't many expectations for the new Mercedes W14, Hamilton's quick first sector before his crash showed that he might be able to surprise, assuming the team can fix his car in time for Qualifying at 3 p.m.
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