Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany steers his car during the free practice for the Formula One Grand Prix at the Monaco racetrack in Monaco, Saturday, May 27, 2017. The Formula one race will be held on Sunday. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
MONACO — Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel warmed up for qualifying at the Monaco Grand Prix with the fastest time in the third and final practice session on Saturday.
The four-time Formula One champion looks in scintillating form, clocking the fastest-ever lap time in Monaco to top Thursday’s second practice and setting a new mark Saturday with 1:12.395. The German driver will be confident of a 48th career pole position in qualifying later.
In a further boost for Ferrari, his teammate Kimi Raikkonen was second quickest Saturday with 1:12.74.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was third quickest while teammate Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth and was nearly one second behind Vettel. Teen star Max Verstappen’s Red Bull split the two Mercedes.
It has been a largely frustrating weekend for Mercedes so far. In Thursday’s second practice, the team botched a tire switch to the ultra-soft compound that saw Hamilton finishing P2 in eighth place with Bottas down in 10th.
Hamilton’s best mark this weekend so far was 1:13.425 when he topped P1 ahead of Vettel — his title rival.
Vettel leads the standings by six points ahead of three-time F1 champion Hamilton. They have won two races each and Bottas clinched the other.
P3 was briefly held up near the end after Esteban Ocon — driving at the Monaco GP for the first time — crashed his Force India.
Ocon misjudged a turn coming out near the Swimming Pool exit and went straight on into the barriers, mangling his car’s suspension.
The car was lifted off the track by crane and the 20-year-old Frenchman, who finished fifth at the Spanish GP two weeks ago, was unharmed.
The smallest braking mistake on Monaco’s tight and sinewy 3.4-kilometer (2.1-mile) circuit — through the winding streets of Monte Carlo, past its famed casino and around its glittering, yacht-dotted harbor — can send a driver into the barriers.
Ocon found that out the hard way, and his mechanics had two hours to get his car ready for qualifying.