F1 Today: Norris names favourite for Monaco, Jos Verstappen slams Steiner

Reigning world champion Lando Norris appears not particularly confident about repeating the success he enjoyed last time out at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the McLaren driver singling out the Scuderia Ferrari team as the quickest at the unforgiving street circuit in Monte Carlo.

The 26-year-old has largely endured a relatively challenging start to the 2026 campaign so far, with a car that has shown clear potential but also suffered from several reliability issues. These flurries of setbacks have taken a significant toll on his championship challenge, leaving him well adrift of the fight to defend the title he worked so hard to secure last season against Max Verstappen and his teammate Oscar Piastri.

At the Monaco Grand Prix in 2025, the Briton produced one of the finest weekends of his career, securing a crucial pole position before making the most of track position on a circuit where overtaking has historically been extremely difficult, ultimately claiming his maiden victory in the Principality.

However, heading into the 2026 race, Norris has suggested the Ferrari outfit could head into the Monaco Grand Prix as the team to beat. The McLaren driver, explaining the reason for his pick in a conversation with GPblog, highlighted Scuderia Ferrari’s strength in low-speed corners as a potentially decisive advantage around the streets of Monte Carlo.

While Norris has largely singled out the Ferrari outfit as favourites for victory in Monaco, Jos Verstappen has hit back at former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner following comments made about Max Verstappen.

Steiner, in the aftermath, suggested that Max Verstappen would be far more positive about the current F1 regulations if he were winning. The 61-year-old doubled down by noting he would be very happy and would call the existing regulations the best ever.

However, Max’s father, Verstappen Snr, responded under a post sharing the former F1 team boss’ words: “Hi Guenther. I understand why you’re not an F1 team boss anymore. The way you talk,” he wrote on social media.

Verstappen Snr was not the only one critical of Steiner’s verdict. Verstappen’s teammate in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Dani Juncadella, also reacted negatively: “Guy has warned everyone about the new regs since 2023, but the head of the consortium that acquired the Tech3 MotoGP team knows better.”