Lewis Hamilton back down to Earth with a bump after worrying Monaco prediction

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari have been hit by a negative prediction for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.

The showpiece date on the Formula 1 calendar is this weekend, and three-time winner Hamilton will race in the famous red for the first time.

Ferrari have endured a below-par start to 2025 but, days ago at the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on home soil, managed to record a Sunday result which raised optimism.

Hamilton was fourth, and Charles Leclerc was sixth, despite a disappointing qualifying which left their new superstar driver “devastated”.

But any hope that Ferrari can continue their upward trend into Monaco have been shot down by Jacques Villeneuve.

“I don’t think any track suits them,” Villeneuve told Sky Sports.

“This year, the car isn’t good enough.

“In Monaco, you need a car which changes direction very quickly, and is super precise between the guard rails.

“That was not the same [at Imola], mainly in qualifying.

“Monaco is all about qualifying.

“Although now with two obligatory pit stops there might be some strange strategies.

“Maybe a team will wait until the last five laps to do their two stops, then hope for a Safety Car.

“It will be odd…”

Rule-change at F1 Monaco Grand Prix

Article 30.5, paragraph m of the Sporting Regulations has been adjusted for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix to inject more excitement.

The update regulation says: “For the Monaco race, each driver must use at least three different types of tyre (either dry or wet).

“If a driver does not use intermediate or wet tyres in the race, they must use at least two different slick tyre compounds, of which one must be from the mandatory dry compounds (Hard or Medium).

“Unless the race is suspended and cannot be re-started, failure to comply with these requirements will result in the disqualification of the relevant driver from the race results.

“In this case thirty seconds will be added to the elapsed time of any driver who did not, when required to do so, use at least two specifications of dry-weather tyre during the race, or who did not use at least three sets of tyres of any specification during the race.

“Furthermore, an additional thirty seconds will be added to the elapsed time of any driver who used only one set of tyres of any specification during the race.”

Pirelli have selected the three softest compounds for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix - C4 will be the Hard, the C5 the Medium and the C6 the Soft.

But this doesn’t necessarily help Hamilton and Ferrari with their biggest headache which occurs on a Saturday.

The Monaco Grand Prix is notoriously reliant on qualifying due to the tight nature of the street circuit.

Hamilton’s woes in qualifying stretch back two years during his final Mercedes laps. Last year, George Russell comprehensively out-qualified him.

This year with new machinery, that glaring flaw has reappeared in Hamilton’s skill-set.

However, Hamilton left Imola at the weekend insisting “something I’ve fixed” bodes well for his future Ferrari outings.