Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads the third free practice for the Monaco GP with Gabriel Bortoleto in seventh
Mercedes started this Saturday’s activities at the front and gave a new dynamic to the Fórmula 1 weekend on the streets of Monte Carlo. The Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the best time in the third and final free practice session for the Mônaco GP, setting the mark of 1m12s720 in his best time. The young driver from the German team managed to overcome direct competition in the final minutes of the session. The Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto finished the preparatory work in seventh place overall, maintaining a constant pace throughout the morning.
Brackley’s team broke the dominance that Ferrari had demonstrated in the first track sessions on Friday. Charles Leclerc took second place on the timesheet, just behind the leader, showing that the Italian car remains very strong to compete for pole position. The seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completed the group of three top finishers in Circuito from Monte Carlo, confirming the immediate evolution of the Mercedes model in the toughest sections of the urban route.
The final result shook expectations for the qualifying session that defines the starting grid of the traditional European race. The crash of British driver Oliver Bearman interrupted the sequence of fast laps and caused a premature retirement in the morning activity. McLaren and Red Bull adopted different strategies, focusing on race simulation before putting on the soft tires for the decisive fast lap attempts. The balance between the top four teams increased the pressure on the strategists in the pit lane.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli sets the pace in the final half of the morning session
The Italian Mercedes rider worked hard with the soft compounds to find the ideal grip on the Montenegrin asphalt. Andrea Kimi Antonelli took control of the time sheet when there were just under thirty minutes left until the end of training. The mark of 1m12s720 ended up being enough to guarantee the top of the classification, resisting the final attacks of direct opponents on the track.
The Mercedes demonstrated superior technical fit in the track’s low-speed curves, where traction control plays a crucial role in the cars’ performance. The German team’s engineers adjusted the front suspension to improve the car’s response on the Piscina’s chicane curbs. The performance cheered up the garage led by Toto Wolff after a series of complicated stages in the world championship.
The leader’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, also posted competitive marks in the first two sectors of the street track. The British veteran used a slightly different aerodynamic configuration, prioritizing final speed on the main straight and at the exit of the tunnel. The consistency of the German team points to a direct confrontation against Ferrari for the place of honor on the starting grid.
Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton face a time duel right behind the leader
Ferrari did not repeat the absolute leadership obtained in the two free practice sessions held on Friday, but maintained a high level performance. The Monegasque Charles Leclerc performed strongly in front of his fans and secured second place, remaining just a few thousandths of a second behind the time set by Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Maranello team focused its efforts on calibrating the brake system to avoid wheel locking on the Saint Devote curve.
Lewis Hamilton secured third place and confirmed that Mercedes found an ideal operating window for soft tires in milder temperatures. The English driver alternated positions with the McLaren competitors for most of the exercise, focusing on gaining acceleration on corner exits. The performance of car number 44 confirms that the new components installed on the floor had the effect expected by the engineering department.
The proximity in lap times indicates one of the most even classifications in recent seasons in the principality. Apenas a few hundredths separate the top three, which considerably increases the importance of a perfect, traffic-free lap on the narrow track. Drivers expressed concerns about the management of the slower cars during the start of Q1.
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Gabriel Bortoleto maintains regularity and sets the seventh best time
The young Brazilian competitor Gabriel Bortoleto confirmed the good marks obtained on the first day of free practice and finished the official work in seventh place. The driver started Saturday’s tests using soft tires and quickly positioned himself in fourth place on the timesheets during the first quick laps. The rookie demonstrated ease in getting around the Cassino curve without compromising the stability of the rear of the car.
His team’s flight plan involved an in-depth assessment of the degradation of soft compound tires over long sequences of laps. Gabriel Bortoleto remained within Top 10 throughout the activity, showing that its benchmark was consolidated against intermediate opponents. The driver lost positions halfway through training, temporarily dropping to eighth place due to improved track conditions.
The Brazilian driver’s reaction came with 15 minutes to go before the final check, when he returned to the pits to put on a new set of tires. Gabriel Bortoleto lowered his own time and moved up to fifth on the timing sheet, before being overtaken by two other cars in the final seconds. The final difference for the activity leader was below the 1s barrier, a scenario considered very positive by the team directors.
Acidente of Oliver Bearman causes interruption and changes strategies in the pits
The calm of the third free practice was broken when the British Oliver Bearman lost control of his car as he approached the Mirabeau curve. The driver of the satellite team ended up touching the external protective barrier with force, causing severe damage to the front right suspension of his single-seater. The impact misaligned the set and prevented any attempt by the competitor to return to the pits by his own means.
The race management activated the localized yellow flag regime before opting to temporarily interrupt work to safely remove the injured vehicle. The forced stoppage forced team leaders to review the lap schedules scheduled for the following minutes. Mechanics worked quickly in the garages to adjust tire pressures according to the new available track time.
- Oliver Bearman lost the ideal braking point on the descent of the urban circuit
- The impact destroyed the front wing and broke the right suspension arms.
- Fiscais from the track used a mobile crane to remove the accident car
- The British pilot left the passenger compartment uninjured and walked to the medical center
- The green flag was reinstated after seven minutes of total stoppage
- Várias teams had to abort their first attempts with new tires
The young driver’s mistake serves as a clear warning about the severe risks that Monte Carlo’s Circuito imposes on competitors who abuse regulatory limits. The lack of asphalt escape areas immediately punishes any trajectory error with a direct impact against the metal guardrails. The material loss also translates into the loss of precious track time to adjust the car before the official classification.
Definição from the starting grid and official broadcasts for the weekend
The drivers return to the Circuito from Monte Carlo this Saturday to compete in the official Grande Prêmio qualifying session. The event takes on a decisive shape in Mônaco due to the severe historical difficulties in carrying out overtaking maneuvers during Sunday’s race. The training session that defines the starting positions begins at 11am, at the official Brasília time, with extensive coverage on sports channels.
The official broadcast of the qualifying phase is the responsibility of the subscription channel sportv3, which shows the definition of the three phases of Q1, Q2 and Q3. The main race is scheduled to start on Sunday morning, starting at 10 am, with live broadcast on both Globo TV and sportv3. The ge portal provides complete real-time monitoring of all sessions of the motorsport weekend.
The teams use the break between sessions to analyze the telemetry data collected in the third free practice. The main focus lies on fine-tuning the engine mappings to extract maximum power in a single fast lap with the softest compounds supplied by the manufacturer. Track position is considered by 90% of strategists as the most important factor for success in the Mônaco race.
