Monaco Grand Prix FP3 Results: Crashes Galore In Third Practice

Your Sports Illustrated guide to FP3 of the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix.

We're back in Monaco for the Saturday of the racing weekend, and with the sun shining and the blue skies glistening in the reflection of the Riviera, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin was first to hit the track followed swiftly by Fernando Alonso.

Nyck de Vries, one of this year's rookies, had a quick sighting lap, putting a heat cycle through his tyres, before heading back to the pits.

Esteban Ocon, on one of his first laps out onto the Monaco tarmac, came to a stop in the famous tunnel with either power or hydraulic issues. But after a reset, he was able to restart the Alpine and get it back to the pits.

Lando Norris, who had an issue yesterday with his power unit, is back on track today after his McLaren team spent a lot of the night running checks. 

Aston's Alonso was dominant in today's FP3 with the Red Bulls being faster than in the straight line but, due to the fact there aren't many on this tight and twisting track, the Silverstone-based constructor will be enjoying their AMR23 today. While Ferrari seems a split P3 competitor, the battle is certainly between Aston Martin and Red Bull. But we know how fast the Scuderia's Charles Leclerc can be. 

What is evident is the huge amount of track evolution affecting performance today. Also, according to Williams chief James Vowles, the soft tyres are lasting only a single lap before their performance sees a significant drop. 

Kevin Magnussen was forced to retire from the session after spinning out at Turn 1, slowly manoeuvring his Haas back onto the track and then grinding to a halt. Shortly after the virtual safety car was removed from the session, Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barriers at Turn 5 whilst on a flying lap. The collision ultimately ended the session with a red flag.

Monaco Grand Prix FP3 Results

1. Max Verstappen
2. Sergio Perez
3. Lance Stroll
4. Carlos Sainz
5. Lando Norris
6. Pierre Gasly
7. Charles Leclerc
8. Lewis Hamilton
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Valtteri Bottas
11. George Russell
12. Kevin Magnussen
13. Nico Hulkenberg
14. Fernando Alonso
15. Yuki Tsunoda
16. Zhou Guanyu
17. Logan Sargeant
18. Alex Albon
19. Oscar Piastri
20. Nyck de Vries