Ricciardo fastest as Vestappen crashes

MONACO: Daniel Ricciardo (pic) posted the fastest time ahead of teammate Max Verstappen as Red Bull dominated third and final practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Verstappen somehow crashed under no pressure moments from the end, meaning his team must repair the damaged right front wing of his car in time for qualifying later.

In the latest incident of a troubled season for the 20-year-old Dutch driver who locked his brakes exiting the swimming pool section next to the famed harbour, slid across the track and slammed into the barriers yesterday.

Verstappen looked dejected as he climbed out and walked back to his garage.

The session was held up for a few minutes while Verstappen’s car and debris were removed. When the drivers came back out for the last few minutes, Ricciardo beat his time by .001 seconds. The Australian driver has topped all three Monaco practice runs.

In a boost for Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel placed third ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton fifth ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton has won the past two races and leads the championship by 17 points ahead of Vettel, who won the opening two races.

Vettel would be closer but finished eighth at the Chinese Grand Prix on April 15 after being clipped by a reckless Verstappen.

Then, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last month, Ricciardo crashed into the back of Verstappen who defended his position aggressively with a podium finish in sight. Both drivers went out of the race and received a stern rebuke from team principal Christian Horner.

Tensions may resurface after this latest blunder from Verstappen, the youngest driver to win an F1 race, at 18.