Max Verstappen believes it will be a far from "very easy weekend" at the Monaco Grand Prix, as he looks to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship.

The three-time world champion has a 48-point advantage at the summit after winning five of the opening seven races this season.

Verstappen could make history by surpassing Ayrton Senna with an eighth successive pole in Qualifying, and maintaining his perfect record at the start of the campaign.

Although, the narrow track layout and high kerbs may present a problem to Red Bull, who struggled with the latter at last year's Singapore Grand Prix, where they failed to finish on the podium for the only time in 2023.

Ferrari's strength in slow-speed corners could also prove crucial, while Lando Norris' challenge appears to be gathering momentum after the McLaren driver finished less than a second behind him in Imola last weekend. 

"In Monaco, you might have some surprises," Verstappen said. "It's one of the more difficult tracks for us.

"In the last few years, Ferrari have always been very, very strong here. Plus, McLaren lately - the last two races - really ramped up in performance. They are, for sure, ones to watch as well.

"I don't think this is going to be a very easy weekend. Our car normally struggles a bit over bumps and kerbs. Monaco is never very straightforward, even when you have the best car. Monaco is a very tricky track to get everything to work.

"For sure, things have closed up [the challenge from Norris], which makes it very important to try to be at our very best. I know that is not always a very realistic possibility, but you always try to get to a certain point and maybe the last few races we haven't been operating at that."