{"id":711491,"date":"2026-06-03T04:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711491\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:21:09","slug":"is-this-lewis-hamiltons-best-chance-plus-monaco-can-be-fun-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711491\/","title":{"rendered":"Is this Lewis Hamilton\u2019s best chance? Plus: Monaco can be fun this year!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic\u2019s F1 newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox twice a week during the season and weekly in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Welcome back to Prime Tire, where we\u2019re wondering how Lewis Hamilton will celebrate if he wins the Monaco GP this weekend. Charles Leclerc\u00a0dove into the harbor<\/a>\u00a0after his Monaco GP win in 2024, so I think Hamilton should commandeer a yacht and sail away. The most dramatic possible way to skip the news conference.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got Ferrari on my mind, clearly. I\u2019m Patrick, and Luke Smith will be along shortly with some McLaren fun. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n

Ferrari\u2019s Edge: Hamilton\u2019s best chance yet<\/p>\n

I was wondering, and, no, Hamilton is not particularly close to breaking an infamous Ferrari record.<\/p>\n

Allow me to explain.<\/p>\n

Hamilton has raced 29 grands prix for Ferrari and won none of them. (The\u00a02025 Chinese GP sprint race<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t count.) I\u2019m old enough to remember when we were keeping track of Hamilton\u2019s\u00a0winless streak at Mercedes<\/a>. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be old enough to start tracking another at Ferrari.<\/p>\n

Here we are, though \u2014 and it doesn\u2019t feel like Ferrari is close to cracking\u00a0the Mercedes grip on the top of the podium<\/a>. Except for this week:\u00a0Monaco may be Ferrari\u2019s\u00a0best and only chance at a win in 2026<\/a>,\u00a0as Luke writes.<\/p>\n

The reason is simple: Those tight, claustrophobic streets and a lack of real straights effectively nerf the engine power that\u2019s made Mercedes look untouchable. According to\u00a0Luke\u2019s breakdown<\/a>\u00a0of the GPS data from Canada, Ferrari\u2019s chassis actually has the edge in the low-speed stuff; it\u2019s only when George Russell and Kimi Antonelli open the taps on the straights that they disappear. In a place where you can\u2019t stretch your legs, that gap evaporates.<\/p>\n

As Hamilton put it, \u201cIf you take away the power deficit, we\u2019re in the fight with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make no mistake: Hamilton winning his first Ferrari race at Monaco would be the biggest moment of the season so far (the Miami GP hot dog does not count<\/a>) and one of the crowning achievements in his storied career.<\/p>\n

But he\u2019d have to go much, much longer without a win to achieve Ferrari infamy. I wondered if Hamilton\u2019s 29-race winless streak is anywhere near the longest a driver has gone after joining Ferrari. Turns out \u2026 nope:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

I forgot that Jean Alesi had\u00a0four\u00a0complete, winless seasons (1991\u20131994)\u00a0before breaking through. On his 31st birthday. Driving the No. 27 Ferrari, the same as Gilles Villeneuve, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. And the win meant Ferrari surpassed McLaren as the winningest F1 constructor.<\/p>\n

That was the only grand prix Alesi ever won.<\/p>\n

Alesi\u2019s record will almost certainly survive Hamilton, mainly because no modern team would hand a driver four years to find a single win. There are some interesting similarities and differences between Alesi and Hamilton, though:<\/p>\n

Alesi\u2019s early 90s Ferraris were bad.\u00a0The 1991 cars were even worse than today\u2019s. Alain Prost compared driving one to driving a truck, and got fired for it. (Really!) I wouldn\u2019t say Hamilton\u2019s cars of this year and last year were on that level.
\nAlesi outperformed his machinery.\u00a0Alesi routinely dragged uncompetitive Ferraris to podiums. Hamilton\u2019s 2025 was\u00a0almost the inverse<\/a>: In races where both cars finished, Leclerc beat Hamilton roughly 17-5. However bad the car has been, Leclerc has made it look less bad. (Leclerc has out-qualified Hamilton 3-2 this season.) (Also, I acknowledge\u00a0Hamilton rocked in Canada<\/a>\u00a0the other weekend.)
\nAlesi had bad luck.\u00a0Alesi\u2019s bad luck was quite cinematic: He took pole at Monza in 1994 and was leading comfortably when his gearbox exploded on Lap 14. Hamilton, so far, has rarely been in a position where bad luck is the decisive factor in not winning a race.
\nAlesi chose Ferrari over a future champion.\u00a0Before signing with Ferrari in 1991, Alesi actually had a deal in place with Williams \u2014 the very team that was about to embark on a run of back-to-back constructors\u2019 titles. He tore it up, choosing the romance of Ferrari instead. Hmm. Hamilton left Mercedes \u2014\u00a0he wasn\u2019t exactly walking away from a dynasty at its peak, but the early look of 2026 suggests he might have jumped ship just as the Silver Arrows started to find their wings again.<\/p>\n

For more on Hamilton\u2019s shot this weekend,\u00a0head here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will Monaco GP be fun this year? Who knows?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the crown jewel of F1\u2019s schedule, and every year we seem to write about how the drivers think it\u2019s boring. But, hey, we have new cars this year! That should help, right?<\/p>\n

Maybe. Let\u2019s break it down:<\/p>\n

The regs won\u2019t be an issue.\u00a0Monaco has many slow corners and short straights, so battery recharging isn\u2019t a big deal. Drivers can go flat out! Plus,\u00a0the cars are smaller this year<\/a>, and Monaco is one place on the calendar where that actually matters.
\nBut it may not matter.\u00a0The streets haven\u2019t changed. The\u00a0layout hasn\u2019t changed<\/a>. It\u2019s still a tight, twisty track with one overtake last season. You may see some attempts at overtaking on the main straight, but since recharging isn\u2019t an issue, both drivers should have boost available at the same time.
\nThe star of Monaco is Saturday qualifying.\u00a0The qualifying races have been a major issue this season, with the new regulations\u00a0draining some pizzazz<\/a>\u00a0from Saturdays. Not at Monaco.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m cautiously optimistic, I guess. Here\u2019s the weekend schedule:<\/p>\n

Friday<\/p>\n

FP1: 7:30 a.m. ET\/12:30 p.m. UK
\nFP2: 11 a.m. ET\/4 p.m. UK<\/p>\n

Saturday<\/p>\n

FP3: 6:30 a.m. ET\/11:30 a.m. UK
\nQualifying: 10 a.m. ET\/3 p.m. UK<\/p>\n

Sunday<\/p>\n

Race: 9 a.m. ET\/2 p.m. UK<\/p>\n

Now let\u2019s throw it to Luke.<\/p>\n

Inside the Paddock with Luke Smith: Is it really McLaren\u2019s 1,000th grand prix?<\/p>\n

McLaren will honor a very special landmark this week in Monaco, becoming only the second team in F1 history to celebrate\u00a0reaching\u00a01,000 grands prix.<\/p>\n

Such are the quirks in F1 history and statistics: It\u2019s not actually racing 1,000 grands prix for McLaren, depending how you look at it.<\/p>\n

There are two main ways of counting it: grands prix entered, which discount failures to qualify or start a race, and race starts, when the car is there for the lights going out and technically \u201cin the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we go by the number of starts, Monaco will actually be race No. 999 for McLaren,\u00a0according to Forix (my go-to bible for all things F1 statistics).<\/p>\n

There are a handful of failures to start a race, such as this year\u2019s Chinese Grand Prix, where both McLaren cars hit trouble before lights out.
\nThere\u2019s also the infamous 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, where safety concerns prompted most of the grid to withdraw following the formation lap.<\/p>\n

So accounting for those, then the number of grands prix entered is already past 1,000.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s not descend too far into the tedium of arguing over such technicalities. It\u2019s a huge moment for one of F1\u2019s most iconic and successful teams. And where better to celebrate than Monaco, the race where it all started for Bruce McLaren in 1966?<\/p>\n

Outside the Points<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfce\ufe0f Mercedes has withdrawn from talks to buy a minority stake in Alpine,\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfad Interesting story in The Guardian today on\u00a0some Williams ownership drama<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddb1\ufe0f And finally, most-clicked last time:\u00a0Our weekly mailbag<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love Prime Tire? Check out The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n