Reigning Formula 1 world champion Lando Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believe Ferrari will be the car to beat at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton finished second at the Canadian Grand Prix and dominated Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc throughout that race weekend.
Leclerc has demonstrated exceptional pace around his home circuit in Monaco, having claimed three pole positions and a race victory there during his career.
Hamilton enters Monaco in strong form, having achieved his best grand prix result in Ferrari colours at the previous round in Canada.
A victory for Hamilton at Monaco over Leclerc on his home territory would firmly establish the seven-time champion as Ferrari’s leading driver.
Ferrari are currently the bookmakers’ favourites for victory in the principality, with the SF-26 considered very strong through low-speed corners.
Qualifying on Saturday will again prove critical around the streets of Monaco, and Hamilton will be chasing only a third pole position at the circuit.
Hamilton’s last pole position in Monaco came in 2019, which was also the last time he won at the famous street circuit.
Mercedes and McLaren have both been fighting for wins and podiums in recent weekends, piling pressure on Ferrari, who are yet to claim a pole or win in sprints or grands prix in 2026.
Speaking to media, Norris said: “Monaco was a track that was decent to us last year but honestly, I think the Ferrari will be on pole next weekend in Monaco, so their low-speed performance is far better than everyone else.”
Norris added: “I look forward to Monaco, because it’s Monaco. I had good success there last year and it was one of my best weekends, most exciting weekends. But I think in the places we know we’re struggling, it’s not something that gives me confidence to say we’re going to be incredible. But you never know.”
Stella agreed with his driver’s assessment, telling media: “I think when we look at the overlay based on the GPS speed, we can see that Ferrari is definitely a competitive chassis in the corners. In the first sector, for example, they have always been very competitive.”
Stella continued: “On top of that, we saw in Canada that Ferrari lost time on the straights, but that is much less of a factor in Monaco. So I think Lando is quite right in seeing Ferrari as possibly the favourite car for pole position in Monaco.”