Hamilton hoping for Monaco rain and a change of luck

Lewis Hamilton said he is hoping for rain and a change of luck in Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix after qualifying eighth for Mercedes.

The seven-time champion admitted he had little hope of claiming pole or winning after seeing local hero Charles Leclerc take pole position ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz.

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"Yes, I do want it to rain," he said, as dark clouds gathered in the Mediterranean principality where the micro-climate can be as capricious as his new era Mercedes car.

"If it rains, it will make it a little better than if I was driving around in the dry in just eighth place.

"I was seventh here last year and I just drove around in seventh. It's so hard to overtake here so I'm hoping that the weather plays up and creates opportunities.

"Many people do different strategies and it will be nice to have some luck for once."

His Mercedes team-mate George Russell qualified sixth.