Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton fastest in third practice for Monaco Grand Prix

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time in the third and final practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later Saturday.

The Mercedes driver clocked a time of 1 minute, 16.758 seconds, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo .050 behind and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg .116 back in third.

Four-time defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany was nearly half a second slower than Hamilton and finished fourth. Toward the end, Vettel waved his hands in frustration after his Red Bull got held up in traffic.

Hamilton has won the past four races and leads the overall standings by three points from Rosberg, who won the season opener in Australia, where Hamilton retired with engine failure.