Despite Mercedes dominating the early part of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Lewis Hamilton is said to be confident that Ferrari can challenge for a win in Monaco.
Hamilton made the switch to Ferrari from Mercedes ahead of the 2025 season, a move that generated plenty of headlines at the time.
Despite the hype, his first year with Ferrari didn’t go as planned. He had trouble settling in and finished a distant 86 points behind teammate Charles Leclerc by the end of the campaign.
This year, though, things have started to turn around. Hamilton recently achieved his best result yet for Ferrari, finishing second at the Canadian Grand Prix.
As F1 heads to Monaco this weekend, there’s growing belief that Ferrari could be in a strong position to capitalise on their recent progress and challenge for victory.
Lewis Hamilton ‘convinced’ Ferrari can win in Monaco
According to Italian news outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport, Hamilton is now feeling comfortable in the car and believes Ferrari can genuinely compete for the win in Monaco.
The Circuit de Monaco could highlight the mechanical strengths of the SF-26, which might work in Ferrari’s favour.
The ban on straight mode by the FIA could also be an advantage for Ferrari this weekend.
Reports have noted that the SF-26 performs particularly well when it comes to traction out of slow corners, something that’s important around Monaco given its layout.
Hamilton Backs Ferrari to Compete for Monaco Win
Speaking about the Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton recently pointed out the fact that the track is not too reliant on engine power.
The seven-time world champion went on to predict that the Ferrari SF-26 could be ‘really strong’ this weekend.
As reported by Planet F1, Hamilton said: “That’s the one track that power is not king. I think that’s definitely [dependent on pure] car performance. I think our car could be really strong there.
“I’m really going to focus on making sure I arrive with the same energy as I had this weekend [Canada], really study hard with the engineers to make sure we position the car in the right place from Practice 1.”
Recently, Hamilton made the decision to ditch the Ferrari sim, which he accused of taking him in the wrong direction.
