Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says his outfit has "great hopes" that it can upset Red Bull's sustained winning streak this season and secure an outright win in Monaco.
The Principality's tight and twisty layout was singled out recently by Fernando Alonso as one of three venues, along with Budapest in Singapore, where Aston could prevail in 2023.
Aston heads into F1's Monaco weekend as the second-best team on the grid behind Red Bull, thanks to Alonso's four podium finishes in five races.
While Team Silverstone's AMR23 has the measure of its Ferrari and Mercedes rivals, its contender is still no match for Red Bull's dominant and undefeated RB19.
However, Monaco's unique high-downforce characteristics will theoretically play to the strengths of Aston's car.
But can the team pull off a sensational upset along the blue shores of the Mediterranean?
"Yes! It would be nice to say yes and do it," replied Krack on Thursday in Monte Carlo.
"We all have great hopes here for Monaco with our two drivers, we have a great car. In the simulator they were all quite excited.
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"But we must not forget the competition. It is true that there are not so many straights here.
"It's also true that we have not seen a Red Bull or Ferrari or Mercedes in high downforce configuration, because we did not have a maximum downforce track so far.
"So I think it would be easy to say, 'Ah we going to be easily at the front.' I don't think it will be that easy. I think we will have to be 100% at all times."
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While Aston's odds of winning this weekend are as high as they have ever been this season, Krack is keeping his feet on the ground and he knows that his team will be facing very tough opposition on the streets of the Principality while outside factors may also come into play.
"There are so many things that can go wrong on our side, on anyone's side," he said.
"So I think we need to respect first of all, how tough the competition is in F1, how high level our opponents or competitors are here.
"Twelve months ago, we would not speak about winning in Monaco. So I think we need never forget where we've come from and keep our heads down and work hard, and then see where we ended up.
"Making predictions, it's easy, but then failing on your predictions can happen very quickly. So we have seen that we've tried to do it the other way around.
"And I think we need to look at the stars, but keep the feet down and work hard. And we have to be 100% minimum to achieve a good result this weekend.
"If it is better than the podiums we had already we would love to take it, but it will be difficult."
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