Lewis Hamilton has warned that qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza will be an exceptionally close affair, describing the prospect of securing a pole position there as a "dream" for the seven‑time world champion. The British driver, who has struggled to match his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in both Friday practice sessions, remains optimistic that the recent engine upgrade introduced by Ferrari has given the team the necessary pace to challenge for the top spot on the grid. In the first free‑practice session, Leclerc posted the quickest time, while the second session saw Mercedes youngster George Russell claim the fastest lap, followed by Leclerc in second place and Hamilton only managing to finish fifth, trailing behind Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Despite the mixed results, the overall performance of the Red Bull‑powered Ferraris suggests that they have the speed required to mount a serious threat for pole. Qualifying is set to commence at 3 p.m. on Sky Sports F1, with Ferrari enjoying a two‑versus‑one advantage over Mercedes because championship leader Kimi Antonelli has already incurred a grid‑penalty for exceeding his allocated engine components. The penalty will force Antonelli to start from the back of the field regardless of where he qualifies, a strategic decision by Mercedes that they hope will allow him to fight his way through the pack more easily at the high‑speed Monza circuit.
"It's going to be tight, it's very close," Hamilton told the media. "We're up against the McLarens and the Mercedes, they are very, very competitive. Every weekend the Mercedes is just really, really quick. It'll be tough, for sure, but we need to knuckle down tonight and see if we can pull something out." When asked about the possibility of starting from the front row at Ferrari’s home race, Hamilton responded, "That's the dream, the ultimate dream.
Whether we can achieve it is the big, big question. It will take a lot of work tonight to figure out if we've made any mistakes and where we can improve, because there are loads of areas we can get better in. Also, being in the right place at the right time on track will help a lot." Although Antonelli is not a contender for pole due to his penalty, he concurred with Hamilton’s assessment that the qualifying session will be fiercely contested.
The 20‑year‑old Italian currently leads the drivers’ championship by 59 points over George Russell, with Hamilton another 59 points behind, and Lando Norris sitting 83 points back in fourth place. Mercedes chose Antonelli’s home race as the venue for him to serve his inevitable penalty, believing that the long‑straight nature of Monza will give him a better chance to recover positions during the race compared with more technical circuits later in the season. Antonelli reflected on his practice day, saying, "Today was a bit different compared to usual. We focused more on long runs, which felt a little odd, but overall it was a good day.
We gathered a lot of data and now we’re looking forward to the next few days. Ferrari definitely made a step forward with the new engine and now the speeds are comparable.
We know how good their car is in the corners, so it will be a tight fight for pole tomorrow." McLaren’s Lando Norris arrived in Italy brimming with confidence after back‑to‑back victories in Hungary and the Netherlands, hoping to keep his championship challenge alive. However, the Briton admitted that the team’s performance had dipped on the high‑speed, low‑downforce circuit of Monza, which differs markedly from the recent tracks where they excelled.
"Not very decent. Just struggling a lot more with pace," Norris said. "In the corners we expected to be good at, we're bad at, and in the corners we expected to be bad at, we're not so bad at.
But we're still off. So not in a great place at the minute. We'll see what we can do overnight but it's going to be tougher than before for sure.
It's close between a lot of the guys at the top. The guys behind are not that far either so they can easily surprise us. I definitely don't feel we are in the fight for pole at all but we need to focus on getting a decent result." The weekend schedule is packed with support races and qualifying sessions. On Saturday, September 5, the day begins with an F3 Sprint at 8:25 a.m., followed by the third practice session for the Italian Grand Prix at 11:15 a.m.
(the session itself starts at 11:30 a.m.). An F2 Sprint follows at 1:10 p.m., and the build‑up to qualifying starts at 2:15 p.m., leading into the main qualifying session at 3:00 p.m. The afternoon concludes with Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 5:00 p.m. On Sunday, September 6, the program kicks off with an F3 Feature Race at 7:10 a.m., then the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 a.m., and the Porsche Supercup Race at 10:40 a.m.
The Grand Prix build‑up begins at 12:30 p.m., followed by the Italian Grand Prix itself at 2:00 p.m. The race finishes with the chequered flag at 4:00 p.m., after which Ted’s Notebook provides post‑race analysis at 5:00 p.m.
All qualifying sessions are also broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event. Monza, known as the "Temple of Speed," is a circuit that rewards low‑drag aerodynamics and powerful engines, making it a perfect stage for Ferrari to showcase its recent engine upgrade.
The combination of long straights and fast corners means that even small gains in straight‑line speed can translate into significant time advantages. Hamilton’s confidence in his ability to extract performance from the Mercedes W14 will be tested against the raw pace of the Ferrari, the evolving McLaren package, and the strategic considerations surrounding Antonelli’s penalty. Fans can watch the entire weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available via NOW without a long‑term contract, allowing viewers to cancel at any time.
The anticipation builds as the world’s top drivers prepare to battle for pole position at one of Formula 1’s most iconic venues, with Hamilton’s dream of a Monza pole adding an extra layer of intrigue to an already thrilling qualifying session.