Lando Norris names Ferrari 'punishment' key to Monaco GP favourite tag

Lando Norris has named the Ferrari "punishment" he believes makes the Scuderia the favourites heading into the Monaco Grand Prix. 

In the build-up to the race in the Principality, Ferrari has been tipped as the favourites owing to its chassis excelling in low-speed corners and the fact that its power unit lacks top-end speed compared to rivals.

Ferrari opted for a smaller turbo, which whilst it generates excellent low-speed gains, means Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton struggled on tracks with long, power hungry straights.

This is not a feature of Monaco, with McLaren's Norris believing that Ferrari's "punishment" of lacking engine power could actually play into its hands as Leclerc chases a second home victory, and Hamilton a fourth on the streets of Monte Carlo.

"I think our run into this weekend this time last year was probably a little better than we've had this year, so maybe we're not quite to the level it was last season, but we are optimistic," Norris told media, including RacingNews365.

"We still want to come with hopes of trying to achieve pole and a win; they are still the goals we want to set for ourselves, but Ferrari and Mercedes have obviously been very strong, Mercedes even more so. 

"So we're not getting ahead of ourselves, we don't want to be too optimistic, but at the same time, we want to come into our weekends with the belief that it is possible, and that's the way we want to stay for now. 

"We know where we stand compared to other cars, where they are fast, and it is true that Ferrari is not the quickest on the straights.

"But that's because they have a lot of downforce and a lot of drag, so it's kind of their own punishment that they have given themselves, which gives them some advantages, and that advantage will definitely show this weekend."