Sawt Falasteen - Hamilton hit with three-place grid penalty in Monaco

The seven-time world champion, driving for Ferrari, drops from fourth on the grid to seventh while four-time champion Verstappen, of Red Bull, profits to move up from fifth to fourth alongside world championship leader Oscar Piastri of McLaren.

His McLaren team-mate Lando Norris snatched pole position on Saturday from local hero and last year’s race winner Charles Leclerc of Ferrari with a record lap in the final seconds of a thrilling session.

Hamilton’s misdemeanour came during the first qualifying session when he was told by his Ferrari race engineer Riccardo Adami that Verstappen was approaching behind him on a fast lap as they climbed towards Casino Square.

Hamilton moved to his left, but was then informed that Verstappen was on a slow lap – and changed his line which upset the Dutchman who was speeding towards him.

"It's not nice," said Verstappen, who discussed the incident with Hamilton soon after the session.

"The team told him I was driving slow when I was clearly driving fast.

2It’s not Lewis’s fault. I already spoke to him about it. It's the team's mistake.”

On an eventful day, Hamilton had crashed earlier at the end of third free practice triggering red flags that ended the session.

His car was rebuilt by Ferrari for him to take part in qualifying.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST