Oscar Piastri admits McLaren is wary about the challenge Ferrari poses in Monaco, as it is a circuit where the Ferrari F1 cars \u201cclick\u201d.<\/p>\n
Although Mercedes has won every grand prix this season, McLaren, Red Bull and, to an extent, Ferrari narrowed the deficit at the Miami Grand Prix when all three teams brought a host of upgrades to the track.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri warns Ferrari could be pole favourites<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Mercedes, though, reasserted itself in Canada when it updated the W17 and claimed the weekend\u2019s crucial P1s.<\/p>\n McLaren, though, didn\u2019t give itself a fair shot at fighting Mercedes as while Lando Norris and Piastri<\/a> lined up third and fourth on the grid, they did so on the wrong tyres \u2013 the intermediates \u2013 and were soon into the pits on a dry track.<\/p>\n It meant Lewis Hamilton joined Kimi Antonelli on the podium in second place, while Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull.<\/p>\n Monaco, though, is a different story.<\/p>\n The street circuit with its bumps, kerbs and slow corners has been a good track for Ferrari in recent years, with Charles Leclerc claiming pole position in three of the last five grands prix.<\/p>\n This season, if Ferrari clinches pole position, the Scuderia will have an even greater advantage with the SF-26 better at launches than its rivals, although McLaren isn\u2019t far behind.<\/p>\n And as everyone knows in Monaco, if a driver gets to the front, he can control the pace as passing is not easy.<\/p>\n More on the Monaco Grand Prix on PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Monaco Grand Prix preview: Key storylines, form guide and what to expect in Monte Carlo<\/a><\/p>\n FIA makes surprise Monaco Grand Prix decision as key change emerges<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure,\u201d Piastri said when asked for his prediction ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. \u201cI\u2019m expecting Ferrari to be quick in Monaco. I mean, they click there every year \u2013 somehow.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this year, with the kind of characteristics they have, looking very good in the corners, and maybe struggling a bit more on the straights, I think Monaco is going to be a good track for them.<\/p>\n \u201cSo let\u2019s see, hopefully it could be a good one for us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n McLaren team principal Andrea Stella agrees with Piastri and Norris, who also says Ferrari is the team to beat, as the circuit\u2019s characteristics play to Ferrari\u2019s strengths.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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. Like the first sector, they\u2019ve been always very competitive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally these features they tend to reward on a track like Monaco. In addition to that, we see, for instance, in Canada, the Ferrari loses time in the straights, but you don\u2019t have much of that in Monaco.\u201d<\/p>\n As such he says his drivers are \u201cpretty right in seeing Ferrari like possibly the favourite car for a pole position in Monaco\u201d.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n