Overview
- The Monaco Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday with a 1300 GMT (1500 local) start and the tight 3.337km street lap makes qualifying decisive because overtaking is rare.
- Mercedes have dominated the season so far, winning the first five grands prix and leaving Kimi Antonelli 43 points clear of teammate George Russell in the drivers’ standings.
- Multiple teams and drivers, including Lando Norris and McLaren principal Andrea Stella, view Ferrari’s SF-26 as the favourite for pole because its low-speed corner performance matches Monaco’s layout.
- The FIA has applied Monaco-specific technical limits that disable straight-line wing mode and restrict full 350kW electrical deployment above 200km/h, changes that should reduce pure top-speed gains and affect how overtake electrical mode plays out.
- McLaren will run a special livery to mark its 1,000th Grand Prix this weekend while the event’s glamour and a rowdier harbour scene coexist with a long record of processional Monaco races that puts a premium on starting position.