MONACO — Local hero Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are widely expected to end Ferrari’s long winless streak and finish Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli’s record streak in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix.

Leclerc, who this week agreed a contract extension with Ferrari, won his home race in 2024 and has claimed pole position three times in the last five years, but he was out-qualified and out-raced by a revived Hamilton, who finished second, in Montreal two weeks ago.

In Canada, Mercedes’ precocious championship leader reeled off a fourth consecutive win, including his maiden F1 triumph, to open a 43-point gap ahead of team-mate George Russell.

But, Antonelli admitted, he had enjoyed some luck and recognised too that Ferrari’s more nimble car and power unit were likely to be better suited to the classic Mediterranean street circuit where Mercedes have often struggled.

The Silver Arrows last won on the unforgiving barrier-lined streets of the principality in 2019 when Hamilton was on his way to his sixth title. It was his third Monaco win, the most by any current driver and he is relishing a return to one of his favourite circuits.

“It’s the one track we go to where power is not king,” he said. “It’s definitely about the car performance and our car could be really strong there.”

Antonelli, the boy prodigy mentored by Hamilton in his final days at Mercedes before moving to Ferrari last year, admitted: “I think Ferrari is the team to beat in Monaco. It’s going to be very interesting to see how we do there.”

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has played down their prospects of continued success.

“Monaco is different to all the other circuits and a car that has been competitive elsewhere is not guaranteed anything here,” he said.

“The margins are small, the consequences are high.”

Last year, Russell finished 11th and Antonelli 18th, a result that Mercedes will seek to avoid repeating as they defend their championship lead after five straight wins.