What makes the Monaco Grand Prix special is the same thing that makes it anachronistic: a unique track where for one weekend the script can be different from the rest of the season. Ferrari aims to break Mercedes’ dominance, relying on a car and an engine that suit the Principality well. What will matter most is the preparation, different from any other event, so that the predictions on paper do not always match reality.
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The small turbo is an advantage
The absence of long straights in Monaco is a great relief for Ferrari. In Monte Carlo, the accelerator is floored for 30 seconds per lap, compared to the season average of 50 seconds, limiting the deficit that Maranello’s power unit pays compared to the more powerful Mercedes units. Not only does the engine work less, but it also operates in a different range than usual. The average speed of 170 km/h, over 50 km/h lower than the calendar average, tells of a track where low-end torque matters more than high-speed power. So the small turbo becomes a valuable weapon for Ferrari, ensuring a responsive engine response in traction, a quality that will be useful when exiting tight hairpins, like Loews or the Rascasse.
Energy management, another area where Mercedes is the benchmark in this early season, will also be less relevant than elsewhere. The track’s mere 3337 meters length contains consumption, while the many braking zones offer more opportunities than usual to recharge the battery. In Monaco, braking is more frequent than on any other track, about 24% of the time with ground effect cars compared to 16% average for the rest of the year. Finding the right braking feel will be crucial, but above all the few problems managing energy and the lesser importance of engine power will limit two great strengths of the Silver Arrows.
A matter of mechanics
Charles Leclerc has already urged the Maranello environment to keep their feet on the ground: Mercedes is not just about the engine and has shown to be strong also in corners. The upgrade package brought to Canada increased the aerodynamic load of the W17, a quality Ferrari does not lack, as confirmed by the excellent sector times in the most technical part of Montreal. In any case, in Monaco mechanical qualities count more than aerodynamic ones, with cars working in a completely different window than usual.
Evidence is Ferrari itself, which in 2025 everyone thought would be on the defensive in Monte Carlo, with a car that suffered slow corners all season. The Prancing Horse, instead, came close to a big result, precisely thanks to the possibility of using a setup free from the usual aerodynamic constraints. The SF-25 suffered serious ride height management problems, but in Monaco the team did not have to worry too much about stabilizing the floor, finally being able to soften the mechanics and find that rear grip missing on traditional tracks. The episode is emblematic of a weekend that requires preparation profoundly different from others, potentially able to overturn predictions. This also gives reasons to hope for Ferrari, often skilled at interpreting the unique challenges of the Principality better than anyone, even in the troubled 2021 and 2025 seasons.
Open fight
If Canada was one of Lewis Hamilton’s favorite tracks, Monte Carlo is Charles Leclerc’s ideal hunting ground. The hometown hero excels among the walls of the Principality, standing out for a very aggressive approach to the Rascasse, where he always decisively cuts the dip on entry to turn tighter. It will be interesting to see the internal comparison with Hamilton, seeking confirmation after the excellent performance in Montreal and with the feeling that the new mechanical setup has strengthened his harmony with the SF-26.
On the other hand, Mercedes has all the cards to string together a sixth consecutive victory. However, the Brackley team has not won in Monte Carlo since 2019, and last year the Silver Arrows struggled a lot with the curbs and bumps of the city asphalt. The priority for both Russell and Antonelli will be to stay ahead of each other, paying attention not to fall into one of Monaco’s many traps, which would cost a very heavy zero. The Principality will also be a great opportunity for McLaren, which in Miami showed it can handle slow corners well, also thanks to shorter gear ratios compared to the Silver Arrows, which provide good traction acceleration. The competitiveness of Red Bull and Max Verstappen will instead be all to discover, as there are no straights to exploit the excellent top speed of the RB22.
All about qualifying
The 2026 cars are the narrowest in the last ten years, but overtaking in Monte Carlo will remain almost impossible, which is why qualifying will be crucial for the final verdict. In Monaco the new cars, lighter, softer and more responsive than the previous ones, could give their best, without too many second thoughts about energy management. On the contrary, there will be the problem of limiting top speeds, so much so that The Race reports that the ECU will start cutting electric power from 200 km/h instead of the usual 290 km/h. For the same reason, active aerodynamics will be disabled, while the overtaking mode will be present.
The key to qualifying will be the tires, always very difficult to bring up to temperature on a circuit that, between slow corners and smooth asphalt, does not generate much heat inside them. It is no coincidence that Pirelli offers the softest compounds in the range, C3, C4 and C5, also protagonists in Canada. The difficulty in Monaco is always finding the right compromise between having the tires ready immediately in the first sector and keeping them alive until the last corners, where pole is often made.
Being fast will not be enough, but you will also have to not make any mistakes in execution. The Principality is known for having a very rapid track evolution, rewarding those who go out last, even at the risk of a red flag. Also watch out not to find traffic in the third sector during the preparation lap, which would cause a big loss of turbo pressure, compromising the launch towards turn 1. In short, for Ferrari and McLaren Monaco represents a great opportunity, but to break Mercedes’ dominance everything will have to be done perfectly.
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