Raikkonen and Ferrari on a roll

Monte Carlo, Monaco Circuit, 8 a.m., NBC. Defending champion: Lewis Hamilton

MONACO — While Ferrari keeps improving, Mercedes is at a loss to explain the difference in performance between its two cars.

Ferrari will start the Monaco Grand Prix today with Kimi Raikkonen in pole position and championship leader Sebastian Vettel next to him. Although Valtteri Bottas qualified in third place, his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton was out of the top 10.

“We have to try and understand what’s happening, how we are going backward over the weekend,” Mercedes head of motorsport Toto Wolff said. “There is a certain DNA in the car. It seems to be a bit of a diva.”

Ferrari was quick all of last week, setting lap records in Monaco while Mercedes — so invincible-looking for the previous three years — struggled from the second practice onward. Although Mercedes sorted out Bottas’ car for qualifying, Hamilton continued to be dogged by tire and balance problems, and he could set only the 14th-best time.

“When you see the other car is able to work, you can’t think for the life of you why you weren’t able to. It feels like a mystery,” Hamilton said.

Raikkonen’s last pole was in 2008 at the French GP, but the Finnish driver coasted to this one. Pole is even more valuable at Monaco, the hardest track to overtake on in F1. Given the reliability and speed of Ferrari’s car, Raikkonen has a good chance of securing a 21st race win and his first since 2013, when he drove for Lotus at the season-opening Australian GP.

Raikkonen, fourth in the championship but 55 points behind Vettel, dismissed talk that he might receive team orders to make way for Vettel, who has 44 career wins. “Just trying to make a stupid story or something,” he said of such speculation.

GETTY IMAGES Kimi Raikkonen is in pole position today for the first time since 2008, with a chance at his first race win since 2013.