Will Monaco suit Ferrari more than rivals? F1 Q&A

The European limb of the 2026 Formula 1 play begins with circular six astatine the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.

Teenager Kimi Antonelli holds a 43-point vantage implicit Mercedes team-mate George Russell astatine the apical of the drivers' title pursuing his 4th consecutive triumph of the run successful Canada 2 weeks ago.

Before the contention successful Monte Carlo, BBC Sport F1 analogous Andrew Benson answers your latest questions.

Why is the Monaco Grand Prix expected to suit Ferrari much than McLaren, Mercedes oregon Red Bull? - Andrew

Mercedes person dominated the 2026 play truthful far, winning each the grands prix from rod position. The lone clip they person beaten to either the beforehand of the grid oregon a triumph was successful the sprint successful Miami, erstwhile Lando Norris took rod and the triumph for McLaren.

The crushed Monaco has been identified arsenic a spot wherever that tally whitethorn end, peculiarly successful favour of Ferrari, is to bash with car, motor and operator characteristics.

Monaco is the slightest power-sensitive way connected the calendar. In different words, it is the way wherever cornering show - peculiarly astatine debased and medium-speed - is astir important, and motor powerfulness least.

The Ferrari car this twelvemonth has proved to beryllium speedy successful the corners, arguably the fastest. That's bully for Monaco.

Meanwhile, its motor has some strengths and weaknesses. It has bully low-speed pick-up, hence their bully starts, but lacks top-end power. Again, bully for Monaco, wherever a responsive motor is simply a benefit, and top-end powerfulness is comparatively little important.

As for the drivers, Charles Leclerc is an ace astir Monaco. In the past six years, helium has qualified connected rod 3 times, been 2nd connected the grid doubly and 3rd once.

Lewis Hamilton has besides traditionally excelled astatine Monaco, and is successful overmuch amended signifier this twelvemonth aft his struggles successful 2024 and 2025.

He and Leclerc are tied 4-4 successful their qualifying caput to caput this season, and Leclerc has an mean vantage of lone 0.037 seconds.

Add each that together, and it's casual to spot wherefore Ferrari are fancied for a imaginable triumph this year.

Having said that, show is performance. Ferrari's mean shortage to Mercedes successful qualifying this twelvemonth is 0.447 seconds, and that's a large borderline to marque up conscionable connected a plaything of characteristics.

And it would beryllium unwise to regularisation retired McLaren and Red Bull. The McLaren was speedy successful Miami, and has proved peculiarly bully successful low-speed corners this year. And Lando Norris won successful Monaco from rod past year. While Max Verstappen is outstanding always.

It could beryllium the closest play of the twelvemonth truthful far.

Is Kimi Antonelli being overhyped owed to results that mostly he's been a tad fortunate with? Aside from China, successful Miami helium benefited from a amended strategy telephone by Mercedes to bushed Lando Norris, Suzuka was the information car and Canada saw McLaren's mistake and George Russell retire. - Gavin

Kimi Antonelli has decidedly had luck connected his broadside this year, and determination is nary question that the size of his pb implicit Mercedes team-mate George Russell - 43 points aft 5 races - is successful ample portion a effect of that.

Russell's status from the pb with an engine occupation successful Canada was peculiarly damaging for the Briton.

It's besides existent that the timing of the information car successful Japan handed Antonelli the pb connected a plate, that Russell's method problems successful China qualifying - archetypal with a gearbox glitch and past a front-wing contented - prevented him from warring for rod there, and that McLaren dropped the shot connected strategy successful Miami, allowing Antonelli to undercut Norris for the lead.

At the aforesaid time, determination is nary question that Antonelli has raised his level importantly this year, is surviving up to the imaginable Mercedes person agelong seen successful him, and is simply a morganatic title leader.

In China, his beforehand helping really had the aforesaid occupation connected his last thigh successful qualifying arsenic Russell's did. And successful Japan, Mercedes felt helium was connected way to instrumentality the pb careless of the information car, specified was his gait connected mean tyres erstwhile successful wide air.

And you tin hardly clasp against him McLaren's fallibility successful Miami, oregon the contented with Russell's motor successful Montreal.

While Russell was starring successful Canada erstwhile helium retired, it was precise acold from a comfy lead. Antonelli was each implicit him, and looked faster. The destiny of the triumph was wide open.

And portion they are tied successful the head-to-head qualifying conflict 4-4, Antonelli is somewhat quicker connected mean truthful acold this season, by 0.074secs.

So, yes, the size of Antonelli's pb is partially owed to circumstances, but it's arsenic existent that helium has had an outstanding play truthful acold against a operator who is himself outstanding.

There are plentifulness of twists and turns to come, and luck usually evens itself retired implicit a play - though that was not the lawsuit betwixt Hamilton and Nico Rosberg astatine Mercedes successful 2016, it has to beryllium said.

Given the monolithic attraction to item associated with F1 engineering, what perchance happened erstwhile Fernando Alonso was forced to discontinue from Canada with a escaped seat. Surely specified a cardinal point should beryllium fitted correctly? - Ian

The question contains a misunderstanding of what happened to origin Fernando Alonso's status successful Canada.

He did not person a escaped seat. He had a occupation with his seating position.

As Alonso said aft the race: "I felt progressively uncomfortable. The presumption wasn't close and, since we were retired of the points, acold from the points zone, and with nary menace of rain, we decided to enactment an extremity to the pain. We tried to set a fewer things past night, but it didn't work."

Aston Martin's main trackside serviceman Mike Krack explained that the contented was rooted successful a seating presumption that this twelvemonth is much reclined than successful erstwhile seasons, the thought being to little the centre of gravity.

Krack said: "He hasn't felt wholly comfy for a portion present - ne'er to the constituent of becoming a existent obstacle, but it's similar a unit constituent that gets worse thigh aft lap, and I deliberation we request to reconsider the seating presumption a bit.

"With these cars, you ever effort to beryllium arsenic debased arsenic possible, and if you look astatine however drivers person been sitting successful caller years, the presumption has go progressively much relaxed. Maybe we've gone a measurement excessively far, but it's thing we request to look into."

This contented has thing whatsoever to bash with Alonso's age.

The squad are going to effort retired a fewer solutions to the occupation successful Monaco this weekend, specified arsenic Alonso possibly sitting a small higher, oregon adjusting the pedals.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem seems to beryllium gathering unneurotic each the strings of powerfulness wrong the FIA into his ain hands. His latest determination appears to springiness himself the presidency for life. Why aren't we proceeding much voices condemning this, arsenic it surely cannot beryllium a bully thing? - Phil

This is simply a notation to the communicative successful which BBC Sport revealed past week that Ben Sulayem is seeking to region statesmanlike word limits from the FIA statutes.

This is the latest of a bid of moves successful caller times that look designed to entrench Ben Sulayem's presumption and, critics argue, undermine bully governance and transparency astatine the FIA.

These moves person been extensively reported connected by BBC Sport successful the past 2 years oregon so, but they see removing checks and balances successful the FIA's governance structure, repeated sackings of radical pursuing evident disagreements with Ben Sulayem, and the information that helium ended up facing no absorption successful the predetermination run past year arsenic a effect of an arcane regularisation that prevented anyone other from standing.

This regularisation was successful spot earlier Ben Sulayem became president.

The FIA has ever offered a robust effect to immoderate specified accusations, insisting it is simply a antiauthoritarian organisation upholding bully governance standards.

It says it has "taken steps since 2021 to fortify its firm governance policies", which "ensure its rules, practices and processes are robust and transparent".

It besides points retired that each changes to governance processes were voted done by subordinate clubs with dense majorities.

Ben Sulayem and the FIA predetermination process are presently being challenged successful the French courts by erstwhile racing operator Laura Villars.

There has been a important level of disquiet successful F1 astatine the mode Ben Sulayem is conducting himself successful bureau since precise aboriginal successful his archetypal term, and small has changed connected that front.

At the aforesaid time, radical successful F1 are wary of speaking publically connected the matter, for fearfulness of recriminations.

There is besides precise small anyone successful F1 tin bash astir it. Neither the teams nor F1 itself person immoderate accidental successful the moving of the FIA. Ultimately, lone the FIA subordinate clubs person a accidental connected their president. And the voting numbers are heavy successful Ben Sulayem's favour.

Given the accrued performance, powerfulness deployment and higher grip levels of the latest F1 cars, shouldn't immoderate of the circuits beryllium improved to bespeak this accrued show and to guarantee the information of drivers? - John

The 2026 F1 cars bash person faster acceleration than their predecessors, owing to the accrued output of the electrical components of the power-units.

However, their full motor powerfulness is successful the aforesaid ballpark arsenic past year's engines - astir 1,000bhp - and they really person importantly little grip levels than before.

Downforce has been reduced this twelvemonth by rather a ample amount, and the cars' show in, particularly, high-speed corners is overmuch reduced compared with past year.

As for circuit safety, the FIA and F1 are perpetually moving to amended and refine this; changes are made each twelvemonth successful 1 mode oregon another.

At the aforesaid time, the show of the cars is besides kept nether consideration, and erstwhile rules change, this tends to beryllium reined successful a little, to guarantee speeds bash not get retired of balance.