Lewis Hamilton expressed strong disappointment with Ferrari’s handling of the final phase of qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix, describing it as "pretty bad" after the Scuderia’s hopes of fighting for pole on Saturday evaporated. Expectations had been high for the home team at Monza, a circuit where Ferrari traditionally aims to dominate, yet they never truly entered the contention during any segment of the knockout rounds. In the decisive Q3 session, three Mercedes-powered cars out‑paced the Italian outfit, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly delivering a surprise pole‑position performance. Oscar Piastri’s three‑place grid penalty later shuffled the starting order, meaning Charles Leclerc and Hamilton will line up on the second row in third and fourth places respectively.
That outcome may actually be a relief for Ferrari, given that their drivers had only managed ninth and tenth fastest times in Q2. Hamilton narrowly avoided an early elimination at the hands of Audi rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, missing out by a razor‑thin 0.001 seconds. Reflecting on a qualifying that was heavily influenced by drivers seeking a slip‑stream boost, Hamilton, who posted the fifth‑quickest time overall, told Sky Sports F1: "It was definitely very, very tough, yes. The car felt really good in practice and in qualifying I didn't change anything, so I felt good going into Q1, and Q1 was solid.
Then we sat and waited, and we waited very long in the pit lane for the first run of Q2, and for some reason we just didn't have the pace. I'm not really sure why, whether it was tyre pressures, tyre temperatures or whatever, so we need to look into that. Then execution in Q3 was pretty bad.
I ended up out in the middle of nowhere with nobody, and then when you're following another car, you arrive several kilometres faster into a corner, so the braking distances adjust. It's all about getting into rhythm, and I got really out of rhythm for Q3, run one.
Q3, run two, it wasn't a terrible lap but the references were all different, and we ultimately didn't maximise." Leclerc, who qualified third, described his session as "a big struggle" and pointed to "many issues in the background that we had to deal with". He added that the challenges were not unique to Ferrari: "I'm pretty sure if we speak in the paddock, everyone had some issues, because it's one of the most difficult tracks to optimise the power unit on. But that's not an excuse. Pierre and Alpine did everything perfect and I think they surprised everyone in the paddock by doing a perfect job.
I'm very happy for Pierre, by the way. Now it's our job to try and recover what we kind of lost on our own today. I don't think pole was possible but one place better was probably doable and we need to target on maximising everything and today we didn't." Despite the setbacks on Saturday, Ferrari remains positioned near the front of Sunday's grid and cannot be dismissed as a race‑winning contender.
Mercedes’ George Russell is likely to start from second and will be the favourite, but the upgraded Ferrari engine introduced for Monza was intended to close the straight‑line speed gap. Hamilton acknowledged that Mercedes still enjoys a marginal advantage on the high‑speed sections: "I think we have a really great car.
It's all Mercedes engines up ahead of us and I think we've done a good job to be as close as we are to them, but they're ultimately gaining several tenths still on the straight. That is what it is, and so we have to just do the best we can.
We're hoping for some tracks that don't maybe rely too much on power in the future, but I'm really grateful to the guys back at the factory because they did bring an upgrade here, they are really pushing. This is just the situation that we're in." Leclerc added that strategic deployment of energy during the race could provide Ferrari with a chance to counter Mercedes’ straight‑line dominance.
"On the straights, Mercedes are very strong. In the corners, we are very strong but we are going to be very exposed on the straights and to attack will be difficult. But the deployment could make a huge difference one way or another and give us the opportunity to overtake. We will have to play it smart and see where we end up," he explained.
The weekend schedule continues with a packed lineup: the F3 Feature Race at 7:10 am, the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, followed by the Grand Prix build‑up at 12:30 pm. The Italian Grand Prix itself will start at 2:00 pm, with the chequered flag expected at 4:00 pm, and post‑race analysis slated for 5:00 pm on Sky Sports Main Event. Viewers can stream the action live via NOW without a long‑term contract, canceling at any time. The race promises a tactical battle between Ferrari’s upgraded power unit and Mercedes’ proven straight‑line speed, with both teams looking to capitalize on tyre management, energy recovery and cornering prowess to shape the final outcome.