Leclerc backs Ferrari for Monaco but insists Mercedes remains the team to beat

Charles Leclerc has identified the Monaco Grand Prix as Ferrari’s strongest opportunity of the 2026 Formula 1 season, yet stopped short of backing his own team to win, insisting Mercedes remains the benchmark despite the circuit’s characteristics suiting the Scuderia.

Mercedes has won all five races so far this year, building a 72-point lead over second-placed Ferrari, with McLaren a further step back in third. The Silver Arrows’ advantage has largely been built on straight-line speed — an area that counts for far less around the narrow, low-speed streets of Monaco.

“If there’s one track I will bet on us, it’s probably Monaco,” Leclerc said. “However, I still believe that Mercedes have had a significant advantage since the beginning of the year. So I think they will be very, very strong. I think McLaren will be very strong as well. I think Red Bull will be very strong.”

Leclerc acknowledged that Ferrari’s chassis and aerodynamic package should be better suited to the principality than the high-speed venues where the team has struggled on the straights, but he was careful not to overstate the advantage. “I think it could help us. But Mercedes, I think, will still remain the team to beat.”

The Ferrari driver’s measured assessment contrasts with the view of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who said after the Canadian Grand Prix that Ferrari’s “low-speed performance is far better” than his own team’s. Norris, who retired in Montreal with a gearbox problem, won the Monaco Grand Prix last season but tempered expectations for this weekend.

“Our run into this weekend last year was probably a little bit better than we’ve had this year,” Norris said. “So maybe not quite to the level it was last season. But I think we’re optimistic. We still want to come in with hopes of trying to achieve a pole and trying to achieve a win.”

The reigning world champion was equally candid about McLaren’s realistic ceiling. “Ferrari and Mercedes have obviously been very strong, Mercedes even more so. So we’re not getting ahead of ourselves, we don’t want to be too optimistic. But at the same time, we want to come into weekends with the belief that it’s possible, and that’s the way we want to stay for now.”

Monaco presents a genuine test of whether Mercedes’ 2026 dominance can survive a circuit that strips away its primary weapon, or whether the Silver Arrows’ overall package is simply too complete for its rivals to exploit even the most favourable conditions.