Lewis Hamilton crashed out of final practice after Charles Leclerc was fastest ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hamilton hit the wall hard at Turn 3 on the approach to Casino Square with two minutes remaining and brought the session to an early end.
A slow Mercedes and Haas may have caught Hamilton out as his Ferrari would have been affected by dirty air.
His car had significant damage to the right-hand side as the seven-time world champion apologised to his team for putting them on the backfoot before qualifying later on Saturday at 3pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
“I don’t know what he was going to do if he didn’t crash because he was going to crash into the cars in front,” said Sky Sports F1‘s Jenson Button.
“This is the problem. You are arriving at such high speed there, on the limit and you’ve got a car in front which is losing you all your downforce on entry.
“It’s definitely Lewis’ mistake but it was not an easy situation for him at that point. A loss of downforce has definitely hurt him there.”
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Sky Sports F1 Karun Chandhok examines why Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton crashed out of Practice Three at the Monaco GP
Leclerc is the driver to beat, though, as he was ahead of Max Verstappen by nearly three tenths as he continued his supreme pace from Friday, where he topped both practice sessions.
The Ferrari driver set his best lap on the softs whereas Verstappen did his time on the mediums, which appeared to provide similar speed to the soft compound.
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Team-mates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri react to McLaren’s ‘vintage’ Riviera-inspired livery for the Monaco Grand Prix
Lando Norris was third and championship leader Oscar Piastri fourth, with both McLaren drivers also in contention for the all-important pole position in Monaco.
Hamilton, who is a three-time Monaco winner, was classified fifth but Ferrari face a race to repair his car in time for qualifying.
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Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, the drivers have their say on the new extra pit-stop rule
Elsewhere, Williams pair Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were sixth and eighth, split by the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson.
Mercedes could be battling to get into Q3 as Kimi Antonelli was only 10th and George Russell 11th.
Sky Sports F1’s Monaco GP schedule
Saturday May 24
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.10pm: Monaco GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: MONACO GP QUALIFYING
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments to have taken place at the Monaco Grand Prix
Sunday May 25
6.55am: F3 Feature Race
8.35am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Monaco GP build-up*
2pm: The MONACO GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Monaco GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
5.30pm: The Indy 500
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Next up in F1’s European triple-header is the ‘Jewel in the Crown’, the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend, with Sunday’s race starting at 2pm live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
