Kimi Antonelli fastest from Charles Leclerc as Mercedes strike back in Monaco F1 final practice

Formula 1 championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace as Mercedes hit back in final practice at the Monaco Grand Prix.

After Ferrari had led the way during Friday practice by achieving a one-two in both sessions, Antonelli and Mercedes appeared to make big gains overnight to resume the status quo in the 2026 F1 season with a Silver Arrows at the top of the timesheet.

Antonelli was consistently the faster Mercedes driver as he became the first man to dip into the 1m12s around Monte Carlo this weekend. The Italian teenager, who leads the world championship by 43 points, was 0.327 seconds faster than home hero Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

Leclerc pipped Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton - who set the pace in FP2 - by just 0.004s, while George Russell struggled to get a clean lap in on the soft tyres as he ended up over four-tenths adrift in fourth.

Max Verstappen put his Red Bull fifth, some six tenths off the pace, with Oscar Piastri seventh as McLaren once again struggled for pace and lagged behind its rivals.

Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto was seventh-fastest ahead of the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Lando Norris, who lost vital track time in FP2 after the reigning world champion’s MCL40 broke down with an electrical issue.

Nico Hulkenberg ensured that Audi finished all three practice sessions with both of its cars inside the top-10.

Final practice was disrupted by a late red flag when Ollie Bearman crashed his Haas at Massenet.

FP3 has teased the prospect of a tight battle for pole position later on Saturday, with qualifying in Monaco considered to be the most important of the season due to how difficult overtaking is at the tight and twisty venue.