MONACO – Lewis Hamilton crashed out of final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, where Red Bull teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez split by just 0.073s at the front.
Hamilton, driving the newly-upgraded Mercedes, got loose through the right-hand corner and over-corrected as the rear end of the car stepped out.
His car ended up in the barrier, although it was unclear whether the front suspension had been damaged.
In the moments after the crash, the world broadcast feed showed Hamilton’s car being hooked up to a crane and carried high above the circuit, for a while hovering outside an apartment block running alongside the circuit.
Mercedes will hope the incident will not hamper Hamilton’s qualifying, with only a handful of hours between the end of practice and the Q1 session.
Out in front Red Bull looks like the team to beat once again, with Verstappen’s benchmark time a 1:12.776.
Lance Stroll was the only driver to finish within 0.4s of the Red Bull drivers, 0.166s off Verstappen in third.
Stroll’s teammate Fernando Alonso may have set a similarly competitive time but had to back off while on a quick lap due to Kevin Magnussen running off the circuit.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari. Lando Norris continued to impress in the McLaren, finishing fifth, 0.620s off the lead but right in the mix with the pace of the Ferraris.
McLaren’s car has struggled for pace so far this year but Norris’ early showings suggest he could qualify highly.
It was a tricky session for a number of cars, with Charles Leclerc and George Russell both asking their teams at different points if they had made contact with a barrier.
Leclerc still appears to be struggling for balance in his car, complaining to Ferrari that his car was bottoming out through the Swimming Pool section.
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Lewis Hamilton crashes in final practice, Red Bulls quickest
