Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari on top in final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix but Kimi Raikkonen crashed the team’s other car.
Raikkonen slid wide at Sainte Devote mid-way through the session and hit the barrier with his left-rear wheel. The damaged Ferrari came to a stop at the opposite side of the track and the session had to be stopped while it was recovered.
The two Mercedes were next, Nico Rosberg ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The latter headed much of the final practice session but told his team on the radio something was “not right” with his car, a problem race engineer Peter Bonnington suspected was due to his tyres being over-pressured.
Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Red Bull ahead of Carlos Sainz Jnr, whose team mate Max Verstappen was another driver to make contact with the wall. Verstappen spun backwards into the barrier at Anthony Noghes, damaging a rear end plate on his Toro Rosso, but was able to continue.
Despite his crash Raikkonen ended the session seventh ahead of Daniil Kvyat and the McLaren of Jenson Button. Verstappen and Romain Grosjean, who will take a five-place grid penalty, completed the top ten.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’16.143 | 27 | |
| 2 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’16.361 | 0.218 | 31 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’16.705 | 0.562 | 31 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’17.120 | 0.977 | 26 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’17.256 | 1.113 | 39 |
| 6 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’17.401 | 1.258 | 11 |
| 7 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull-Renault | 1’17.471 | 1.328 | 28 |
| 8 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Honda | 1’17.767 | 1.624 | 28 |
| 9 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’17.788 | 1.645 | 23 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’17.806 | 1.663 | 28 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’17.832 | 1.689 | 30 |
| 12 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’17.956 | 1.813 | 28 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’18.102 | 1.959 | 32 |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’18.197 | 2.054 | 26 |
| 15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’18.212 | 2.069 | 29 |
| 16 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’18.242 | 2.099 | 32 |
| 17 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’18.767 | 2.624 | 38 |
| 18 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’19.269 | 3.126 | 37 |
| 19 | 28 | Will Stevens | Manor-Ferrari | 1’21.093 | 4.950 | 31 |
| 20 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Manor-Ferrari | 1’22.225 | 6.082 | 30 |
Third practice visual gaps
Sebastian Vettel – 1’16.143
+0.218 Nico Rosberg – 1’16.361
+0.562 Lewis Hamilton – 1’16.705
+0.977 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’17.120
+1.113 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’17.256
+1.258 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’17.401
+1.328 Daniil Kvyat – 1’17.471
+1.645 Max Verstappen – 1’17.788
+1.663 Romain Grosjean – 1’17.806
+1.689 Sergio Perez – 1’17.832
+1.813 Pastor Maldonado – 1’17.956
+1.959 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’18.102
+2.054 Fernando Alonso – 1’18.197
+2.069 Valtteri Bottas – 1’18.212
+2.099 Felipe Massa – 1’18.242
+2.624 Felipe Nasr – 1’18.767
+3.126 Marcus Ericsson – 1’19.269
+4.950 Will Stevens – 1’21.093
+6.082 Roberto Merhi – 1’22.225
Combined practice times
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’19.134 | 1’18.295 | 1’16.143 | -2.152 | 72 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’19.762 | 1’17.932 | 1’16.361 | -1.571 | 94 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’18.750 | 1’17.192 | 1’16.705 | -0.487 | 92 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull-Renault | 1’19.086 | 1’19.639 | 1’17.120 | -1.966 | 66 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’19.245 | 1’18.659 | 1’17.256 | -1.403 | 93 |
| 6 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’19.679 | 1’18.543 | 1’17.401 | -1.142 | 57 |
| 7 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull-Renault | 1’19.520 | 1’18.548 | 1’17.471 | -1.077 | 77 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Honda | 1’20.202 | 1’19.606 | 1’17.767 | -1.839 | 57 |
| 9 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso-Renault | 1’18.899 | 1’18.782 | 1’17.788 | -0.994 | 77 |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’20.274 | 1’19.266 | 1’17.806 | -1.46 | 75 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1’20.649 | 1’19.300 | 1’17.832 | -1.468 | 78 |
| 12 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Mercedes | 1’19.454 | 1’19.577 | 1’17.956 | -1.498 | 76 |
| 13 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’20.784 | 1’19.151 | 1’18.102 | -1.049 | 79 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren-Honda | 1’19.791 | 1’18.906 | 1’18.197 | -0.709 | 72 |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1’20.917 | 1’19.566 | 1’18.212 | -1.354 | 79 |
| 16 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1’19.766 | 1’19.560 | 1’18.242 | -1.318 | 79 |
| 17 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’20.857 | 1’20.263 | 1’18.767 | -1.496 | 72 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’21.219 | 1’19.269 | -1.95 | 62 | |
| 19 | Will Stevens | Manor-Ferrari | 1’23.234 | 1’22.943 | 1’21.093 | -1.85 | 72 |
| 20 | Roberto Merhi | Manor-Ferrari | 1’23.404 | 1’22.017 | 1’22.225 | +0.208 | 70 |
TMF (@)
23rd May 2015, 11:15
Would be cool to see a Ferrari pole – but guessing the Mercs will find the couple of tenths they usually do.
Duc Pham (@ducpham2708)
23rd May 2015, 11:18
Great performance from Vettel and Ferrari!
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
23rd May 2015, 11:45
Williams really slow.
Quant
23rd May 2015, 12:35
Yes, looking like two years running of very poor Monaco performance.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
23rd May 2015, 11:53
Rosberg must be happy with team mates problems.
Nase (@)
23rd May 2015, 12:12
Räikkönen has done a great job preserving his 2014 performance level. The real difference is that he now has to push, seeing as he can’t plausibly blame his speed (or lack thereof) on the car anymore.