McLaren on red alert as Lewis Hamilton hunts Monaco Grand Prix glory

Hamilton looking cheekily at Norris who is smiling, stood under the same umbrella in Ferrari and McLaren kit respectively — Photo: © IMAGO

Monaco Grand Prix

McLaren on red alert as Lewis Hamilton hunts Monaco Grand Prix glory

Will Lewis Hamilton win in Monaco?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 1 June 2026 11:57 Updated: 12:42

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Reigning F1 world champion Lando Norris and his boss Andrea Stella believe Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton will be the team to beat at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton finished second at last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, and dominated team-mate Charles Leclerc throughout the weekend.

Leclerc is a master around his home track in Monaco, claiming three pole positions and a race victory there already throughout his career.

Hamilton hitting top form again in 2026

But Hamilton is in a rich vein of form, starting the 2026 season off in fine fashion and achieving his best grand prix result yet in Ferrari red last time out, and if he can beat Leclerc in his backyard, then the seven-time champion will really be putting his flag in the ground to be Ferrari's number one driver.

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Ferrari are the bookmakers' favourites to take the victory in the principality, with the SF-26 very strong through low-speed corners.

As always with Monaco, qualifying on the Saturday will be crucial, and Hamilton will be chasing only a third pole position at the track, and a first since 2019, which was also the year of his last win there.

But already it seems as though Mercedes and McLaren, two teams who have been fighting for race wins and podiums in recent weekends, are piling the pressure on Ferrari, who are yet to take a pole position or race win in either sprints or grands prix in 2026.

Are Ferrari the team to beat in Monaco?

Speaking to media, McLaren driver 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.”

“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.”

Meanwhile, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella couldn’t help but agree that the Scuderia were the ones to watch.

He also told 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. It’s not only a low-speed sector, but also one with several flowing corners. Normally, those characteristics tend to be rewarded at a track like Monaco.

“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.”

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari McLaren Monaco Grand Prix Andrea Stella