A purple first sector for Hamilton came to naught as he encountered heavy traffic in the second sector, while Leclerc popped in a big lap on his fourth tour with the soft tyre to drop into the 1:10s with a 1:10.953 to go almost three-tenths up on Verstappen.

Charles Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton ended the day in third, while McLaren's Lando Norris was fourth fastest

The Monaco Grand Prix may be “the jewel in Formula 1’s crown” but the race itself is rarely must-see TV. Sometimes, it’s downright dull.