After taking Friday off – a feature of the event timetable unique to Monaco – the drivers returned to action on Saturday in bright and warm conditions. Hill set the pace with a time of 1:23.468, which was the fastest lap of the weekend thus far. He was almost 0.8 seconds ahead of Alesi, who in turn led Coulthard, Häkkinen, Berger and Panis. Schumacher was back in seventh place after damaging his car's suspension in a collision with Frentzen exiting Casino Square, restricting him to 11 laps only. Frentzen later crashed heavily after losing control under braking for Massenet, punching a hole in the Sauber's monocoque in the process. Blundell also crashed his McLaren at La Rascasse, but the damage was easier to repair.