Lewis Hamilton lamented that Ferrari’s handling of the final phase of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix was "pretty bad," after the Scuderia’s aspirations of fighting for pole at their home circuit fell flat on Saturday. Expectations had been high for Ferrari to mount a serious challenge at Monza, yet the team never truly entered the mix during any of the knockout rounds. In the decisive Q3 session, three Mercedes-powered cars outpaced the Italian outfit, with Alpine’s surprise pole‑sitter Pierre Gasly taking the top spot. 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 positions respectively.
That outcome may actually be a blessing in disguise, given that Ferrari’s drivers had only managed ninth and tenth fastest times in Q2, and Hamilton narrowly escaped an early elimination at the hands of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto, missing out by just 0.001 seconds. Reflecting on his own performance in a session dominated by drivers hunting for a slipstream‑boosting "tow," the fifth‑fastest man on the grid, Hamilton 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 own session as "a big struggle," pointing to "many issues in the background that we had to deal with." He added that everyone in the paddock seemed to be battling problems because Monza is one of the most demanding tracks for power‑unit optimisation. "That’s not an excuse," he said.
"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 maximising everything and today we didn’t." Despite the Saturday setbacks, Ferrari remain at the sharp end of Sunday’s grid and cannot be dismissed as race‑winners, although Mercedes’ George Russell is likely to start as the favourite from second place.
Ferrari introduced an upgraded power unit for Monza, a move that was supposed to lift their chances of victory. Hamilton, however, noted that Mercedes still retain an edge on straight‑line speed. "I think we have a really great car," he said.
"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." Hamilton also expressed hope that future circuits might not rely as heavily on outright power, saying, "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 highlighted that strategic energy deployment on the high‑speed lap could still provide Ferrari with overtaking opportunities, despite the expectation of a return to the "yo‑yo" racing pattern seen earlier in the season. "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," he explained. "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." The weekend schedule continues with a packed programme: Sunday, September 6, starts with the F3 Feature Race at 7:10 am, followed by the F2 Feature Race at 8:40 am, the Porsche Supercup at 10:40 am, and the Grand Prix build‑up at 12:30 pm.
The Italian Grand Prix itself kicks off at 2:00 pm, with the chequered flag expected around 4:00 pm, and post‑race analysis slated for 5:00 pm on Sky Sports Main Event. Viewers can stream the action via Sky Sports F1 or NOW, with the flexibility of no‑contract, cancel‑anytime access.