Lewis HamiltonĀ has delivered a bullish verdict onĀ Ferrariās chances at the Monaco Grand Prix, insisting the Scuderia can take the fight toĀ MercedesĀ around the streets of Monte Carlo.
The seven-time world champion has endured a mixed start to life in red, with Ferrari showing flashes of promise but still lacking the outright performance required to consistently challenge Mercedes at the front.
Hamilton has repeatedly pointed to Ferrariās straight-line deficit as one of the biggest issues hurting their chances against the Silver Arrows, with the Brit claiming he is able to match them through the corners before losing out on the straighTS.
However, his comments came after he produced his strongest grand prix performance since joining Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished second behind Mercedes star Kimi Antonelli.
The Brit had started fifth in Montreal, but worked his way into podium contention and eventually got the better ofĀ Max VerstappenĀ late on to secure a landmark result for the Scuderia.
But while the result was encouraging, Hamiltonās post-race verdict made clear that he still believes Ferrari are giving away too much performance on the straighTS.
And with F1 now heading to Monaco, Hamilton believes Ferrari could be presented with their best chance yet to challenge for victory.
The iconic street circuit is famously one of the least power-sensitive tracks on the calendar, with qualifying performance, mechanical grip and driver confidence often proving far more important than outright engine performance.
āI mean, thatās the one track that power is not king,ā Hamilton said in the FIA press conference after the Canadian GP.
āI think thatās definitely car performance.
I think our car could be really strong there.ā
Hamilton eyes Monaco GP victory
Hamilton suggested that he would be throwing himself into preparations with Ferrariās engineers to make sure the team arrives in Monaco ready to attack from the opening practice session.
āIām really going to focus on making sure I arrive with the same energy as I had this weekend,ā he added.
āReally study hard with the engineers to make sure we position the car in the right place from FP1.ā
Hamiltonās optimism comes despite the Ferrari star admitting that Mercedes currently hold a major advantage in terms of power.
āIf you take away the power deficit, weāre in the fight with these guys,ā Hamilton continued.
āBut unfortunately thatās not the way it is today.
And I think in the moment Iām like, āI need more power somehow,ā because Iām able to hold on or keep up with them through the corners and I canāt push the pedal any further.
āAnd you see them just eking out the straight and you catch them back in the brakes, they eke it out in the straight.
Itās really hard.ā
āEven when you get the overtake, you get within a second, they still pull away,ā he added.
āSo thatās how much grunt that they have, and weāre massively down.ā
Despite that weakness, Hamilton remains hopeful that upcoming rule changes can allow Ferrari to claw back performance.
āMonaco should be fun,ā he concluded.
