Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg posted the fastest lap time during the third practice session of the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix. The German’s lap came halfway through the session on supersoft tyres.
The session saw many mistakes from drivers, most notable was Pastor Maldonado’s crash at the Casino corner which took off his left rear wheel. Paul Di Resta also had his share of barrier-kissing, the Scot lost control of his car after the tunnel exit and smashed his car into the barriers, losing part of his front wing in the process.
Sebastian Vettel went 3rd quickest, the world champion was sandwiched by the two Ferraris of Felipe Massa in 2nd and Fernando Alonso in 4th.
Romain Grosjean kept his very strong pace as he crossed the line 5th, followed by McLaren teammates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in 6th and 7th respectively.
Michael Schumacher couldn’t match his Mercedes teammate; the 7-time world champion was 8th, two tenths faster than 9th placed Sergio Perez in the Sauber, while Mark Webber was down in 10th, therefore completing the top 10.
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m15.159s 2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m15.197s + 0.038s 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m15.209s + 0.050s 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m15.210s + 0.051s 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m15.445s + 0.286s 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.471s + 0.312s 7. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m15.734s + 0.575s 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m15.893s + 0.734s 9. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.110s + 0.951s 10. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m16.219s + 1.060s 11. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.226s + 1.067s 12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m16.301s + 1.142s 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m16.311s + 1.152s 14. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.479s + 1.320s 15. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m17.027s + 1.868s 16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m17.055s + 1.896s 17. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.276s + 2.117s 18. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m17.390s + 2.231s 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m17.404s + 2.245s 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m18.259s + 3.100s 21. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m18.488s + 3.329s 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.099s + 3.940s 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m19.147s + 3.988s 24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.151s + 3.992s