Monaco GP: Sebastian Vettel sure Mercedes can be overcome in race

The reigning Formula 1 world champion will start the race third, behind Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

And while overtaking is notoriously difficult in Monaco, Vettel is confident that the race can be won if his team can get the strategy right.

"There are a lot of laps here," he said.

"But it is difficult to overtake. It always depends where you are, [but] on track it can be difficult.

"Hopefully Mercedes will struggle, but we cannot rely on that. Tyre wear for sure will play a role tomorrow, but we need to look after ourselves first. We will see what happens and then make the right calls.

"Our target tomorrow is to win."

Vettel also praised the team for making huge improvements to the car since Thursday's practice sessions.

"We saw on Thursday our performance was not great, I wasn't feeling the car and therefore today I was much happier.

"Overall I was happy with the lap. On Thursday it did not look like we were anywhere close to the first two rows, so I am happy with the result and confident for tomorrow."