Lewis Hamilton has warned that qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza will be an "extremely close" contest, and he admitted that securing a pole position at Ferrari’s home circuit would be nothing short of a "dream" for the seven‑time world champion. The British driver’s confidence was tempered by the fact that his teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, out‑paced him in both Friday practice sessions. Nevertheless, the introduction of a fresh engine upgrade for the Scuderia has raised hopes that the team now possesses the speed required to challenge for the top spot on the grid.
In the first practice session, Leclerc posted the fastest lap, while the second session saw Mercedes youngster George Russell claim the top time, with Leclerc second and Hamilton only managing fifth place behind Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris. The mixed results underscored the competitive balance that is expected to define Saturday’s qualifying, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 at 3 p.m. local time.
A notable twist to the weekend’s narrative is the penalty already handed to world‑championship leader Kimi Antonelli for exceeding his allocated engine components. The sanction forces the 20‑year‑old Italian to start from the back of the grid regardless of his qualifying performance, giving Mercedes a strategic advantage of two cars versus one for the front‑row fight. "It’s going to be tight, it’s very close," Hamilton said in a 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 pressed about the possibility of lining up on the front row – or even taking pole at Monza – 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 identify any shortcomings and to find every area where we can improve, because there are loads of places we can get better. Also, being in the right place at the right time on track will help a lot." Although Antonelli is not a direct contender for pole due to his grid penalty, he echoed Hamilton’s assessment that the session will be fiercely contested.
The young Italian currently leads the championship by 59 points over George Russell, with Hamilton trailing by the same margin, while Lando Norris sits 83 points behind in fourth place. Mercedes has deliberately chosen Antonelli’s home race as the venue for serving his inevitable penalty, believing that the high‑speed nature of Monza will give him the best chance to recover positions during the race. The team’s strategy hinges on the idea that overtaking at the Italian circuit is more feasible than at many of the remaining tracks on the calendar.
Antonelli commented, "Today was a bit different compared to usual. We focused more on long runs, which felt odd, but overall it was a good day. We gathered a lot of data and now we look 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 certainly 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 hopes alive. However, the Briton appeared subdued after his team struggled to translate recent form onto the very different layout of Monza.
Norris admitted, "We’re not performing as well as we’d like. 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 the pace. It’s not a great place right now. We’ll see what we can do overnight, but it’s going to be tougher than before. It’s close between a lot of the guys at the top, and the ones behind aren’t 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 ancillary events. On Saturday, September 5, the day begins with the Formula 3 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.). The Formula 2 Sprint takes place at 1:10 p.m., and the build‑up to qualifying kicks off at 2:15 p.m.
Qualifying itself is slated for 3:00 p.m., with a post‑qualifying analysis at 5:00 p.m. on Ted’s Qualifying Notebook.
All qualifying action will also be shown on Sky Sports Main Event. Sunday, September 6, continues with the Formula 3 Feature Race at 7:10 a.m., the Formula 2 Feature Race at 8:40 a.m., and the Porsche Supercup Race at 10:40 a.m. The main event, the Italian Grand Prix, starts at 2:00 p.m., followed by the chequered‑flag ceremony and a reaction segment at 4:00 p.m., and concluding with Ted’s Notebook at 5:00 p.m. Fans can stream the entire weekend live via Sky Sports F1, with the option to watch through the NOW platform without a long‑term contract, allowing cancellation at any time.
The combination of fresh engine upgrades, strategic penalties, and a highly competitive field promises that Monza’s qualifying session will be a thrilling prelude to one of Formula 1’s most historic races.