Lando Norris and McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella believe Ferrari are the favorites to dominate the 2026 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Ferrari heads into the race weekend at the Principality off the back of two podium-less outings in Miami and Canada, respectively.
On the other hand, Mercedes have been the runaway leaders – winning all the rounds run in 2026 so far.
That said, the SF-26 has proved a worthy adversary for its rivals in low speed corners. Ferrari’s 2026 challenger has proved to be nimble and good on traction on corner exits.
Norris believes this would be crucial to the competitive landscape, this weekend – given the inherent characteristics of the narrow and twisty streets of Monaco.
The reigning F1 World Champion expects either Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton to slot themselves into pole-position.
“Honestly, I think that Ferrari will be on pole next weekend in Monaco,” he told media including Motorsport Week after the Canadian GP.
“Their low-speed performance is far better than everyone else.”
If Ferrari are able to lock the front-row out, Monaco is a track where its monumentally difficult to lose track position – barring strategy gaffes.
But despite this onset of Ferrari dominance, Norris is still excited to head to Monaco, a track where he won for the first time, last year.
“I look forward to Monaco because it’s Monaco. I had good success there last year and it was one of my best and most exciting weekends,” Norris added.
“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.”
Andrea Stella echoes Lando Norris’ Ferrari F1 Monaco GP endorsement
Ferrari are still not at par with Mercedes in terms of out-and-out engine performance.
However, Stella believes that the iconic Italian marque has produced a chassis capable of delivering competitive low-speed performance and mechanical grip on acceleration.
“When we look at the overlay based on the GPS speed, we can see that Ferrari is definitely a competitive chassis in the corners, like in the first sector,” the former Ferrari man explained.
“And it’s not only a low-speed sector, but it’s also a sector with kerbing. And normally these features tend to be rewarded on a track like Monaco.
“In addition to that, we see, for instance in Canada, that Ferrari lose time in the straights, but you don’t have much of that in Monaco. So, I think Lando is pretty right in seeing Ferrari possibly as the favourite car for pole in Monaco.”
Despite a disappointing outing in Montreal McLaren have also buffed their chances with an updated MCL40 taking a double-podium at Miami, last month, which would surely buoy them for a solid race weekend at Monaco.
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