Lewis Hamilton has warned that qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza will be a "very close" contest, describing a potential front‑row start as his "dream" scenario. The seven‑time world champion entered the weekend after a mixed weekend in the practice sessions, where his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc posted the fastest time in the first session and Mercedes youngster George Russell topped the second. Hamilton, however, managed only fifth overall, trailing behind Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Despite being out‑paced in practice, the Mercedes driver believes the recent engine upgrade Ferrari introduced has given the Italian team the necessary speed to challenge for pole.
The qualifying session, broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 at 3 p.m., will see Ferrari benefit from a two‑versus‑one grid advantage over Mercedes because championship leader Kimi Antonelli has already incurred a penalty for exceeding his allocated engine parts. As a result, Antonelli will start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying performance, a strategic decision by Mercedes intended to give the young Italian a better chance of climbing through the field at Monza, a circuit known for its high‑speed straights and overtaking opportunities.
"It’s going to be tight, it’s very close," Hamilton said in the post‑practice interview. "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 securing a front‑row start or even pole at Ferrari’s home race, Hamilton replied, "That’s the dream, the ultimate dream.
Whether we can achieve it is the big, big question. It’s going to take a lot of work tonight to figure out if we’ve gone wrong anywhere and where we can improve – there are loads of places we can improve.
Also, being in the right place at the right time on track will help a lot." Antonelli, although not a direct contender for pole, echoed Hamilton’s assessment of a tight battle ahead. The 20‑year‑old Italian currently leads the drivers’ championship by 59 points over George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton further back and Lando Norris in fourth, 83 points behind the leader. Mercedes have deliberately chosen Monza as the venue for Antonelli to serve his penalty, believing that the circuit’s long straights will give him a better chance to recover positions compared with more technical tracks later in the season. Speaking about his own performance, Antonelli said, "Today was a bit different compared to usual – a lot more focused on long runs, so it was a bit weird, not going to lie, 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 took a step forward with a new engine and now the speeds are the same. We know how good their car is into the corners, so for sure it’s going to be a tight fight for pole tomorrow." McLaren’s Lando Norris arrived in Italy riding the momentum of back‑to‑back victories in Hungary and the Netherlands, hoping to translate that form into a strong showing at Monza.
However, the British driver expressed disappointment after the team struggled to match its recent pace on a track that differs significantly from the previous two events. "Not very decent. Just struggling a lot more with pace," Norris admitted. "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 series and additional F1 content. On Saturday, September 5, the day begins with an F3 Sprint at 8:25 a.m., followed by the third practice session for the 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.
Qualifying itself kicks off at 3 p.m., with a post‑qualifying analysis segment, "Ted’s Qualifying Notebook," at 5 p.m. The same day’s action will also be shown on Sky Sports Main Event.
Sunday, September 6, continues the racing marathon with an F3 Feature Race at 7:10 a.m., an F2 Feature Race at 8:40 a.m., and a Porsche Supercup race at 10:40 a.m. The main event – the Italian Grand Prix – builds up from 12:30 p.m., with the race itself starting at 2 p.m. The day concludes with the chequered flag at 4 p.m., a post‑race reaction segment, and another edition of "Ted’s Notebook" at 5 p.m.
Fans can watch the entire weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with streaming available through the NOW platform, which offers a contract‑free, cancel‑anytime option. The combination of a refreshed Ferrari engine, a motivated Mercedes squad, and a determined McLaren team sets the stage for one of the most closely contested qualifying sessions of the season, and Hamilton’s quest for that elusive "dream" pole at Monza adds an extra layer of intrigue to the historic Italian Grand Prix.