Ferrari came away from Italian Grand Prix qualifying at Monza with less than it had hoped for, leaving Charles Leclerc fourth and Lewis Hamilton fifth on the grid and placing even greater importance on executing Sunday’s race perfectly. The Scuderia had been widely expected to challenge for the front row in front of its home crowd, but instead endured a session marked by problems, mistakes and a performance that never fully matched those expectations.
Some will see the glass as half full and others as half empty, but the overriding feeling after qualifying was one of disappointment. Ferrari had been expected to fight directly with the Mercedes cars of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Instead, the Italian team must also contend with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine and a McLaren squad that has shown a strong technical recovery in the second half of the championship.
There could yet be an opportunity for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to gain a position, however. Oscar Piastri impeded Liam Lawson during qualifying and could therefore receive a penalty from the stewards.
Ferrari Monza qualifying falls short of expectations
Ferrari’s qualifying session was far from perfect, and Charles Leclerc in particular made clear afterwards that he had expected a different outcome. Fred Vasseur also acknowledged that the team had made life more difficult for itself, with several errors contributing to a complicated afternoon.
Q2 provided one of the clearest examples. Ferrari began the segment on a set of used tyres, while additional issues left Lewis Hamilton in danger of missing Q3 altogether. The seven-time world champion eventually survived, but his afternoon remained difficult, with Lewis Hamilton later criticising Ferrari’s Q3 execution.
Charles Leclerc’s comments offered further insight into the problems that complicated qualifying. The Monegasque driver was more expansive about what had gone wrong, while Lewis Hamilton kept his remarks to Sky Sport Italia brief and focused mainly on Sunday: everything will need to be perfect and Ferrari cannot afford further mistakes.
That requirement carries particular weight at the Scuderia’s home circuit. Monza will provide important indications about Ferrari’s technical progress, especially after the introduction of the ADUO-2 specification on the SF-26.
There are also sporting and symbolic dimensions to the weekend. From a sporting perspective, Ferrari needs its pit wall and race management to operate without mistakes after the problems encountered at Zandvoort. Symbolically, Monza marks 30 years since Michael Schumacher’s first victory in Ferrari colours at the Italian circuit.
Charles Leclerc explains Ferrari’s unexpected qualifying problems
Speaking to Sky, Charles Leclerc went into greater detail than his team-mate when explaining the difficulties Ferrari had encountered.
“I think we made life difficult for ourselves mainly because of things that went beyond the choice between new and used tyres,” Charles Leclerc said. “We had some background management problems that I struggle to understand, given that they only appeared when we got to qualifying and had to optimise every detail, and not earlier during free practice.”
Those comments reflected the frustration of a driver whose goals for the day had been somewhat higher. Charles Leclerc had already described himself as “very disappointed” after Ferrari’s qualifying problems, but he also identified one area in which the SF-26 remains strong.
“Our tyre management remains a strength, but we need to be aware that we will be in clear difficulty on Monza’s long straights. That will make our life very complicated tomorrow: to try to defend, we will be forced to use the hybrid boost immediately on the first straight, draining the battery and then leaving ourselves exposed on the following straights.”
Ferrari’s energy management had already become an important talking point during the session after Fred Vasseur revealed a battery problem during qualifying. For Charles Leclerc, that makes the balance between defending and preserving energy particularly important for the race.
Charles Leclerc targets another Monza ‘magic’ result
Despite the difficulties, Charles Leclerc has no intention of giving up on the possibility of another memorable result in front of the Tifosi.
“It won’t be easy at all, but I’ll do everything I can to try to produce some magic. We managed it in 2019 and in 2024, and those memories are fixed in my mind every time I come here to race at Monza. We’ll definitely try, even though we know it’s an uphill battle.”
The challenge is therefore clear. Ferrari believes its tyre management can be an asset, but the SF-26 is expected to be vulnerable on Monza’s long straights. That means race execution, hybrid deployment and the timing of attacks and defensive moves could become especially important.
Lewis Hamilton: ‘It hurts not to be on pole here’
Lewis Hamilton was considerably more concise after qualifying, preferring to turn his attention towards Sunday. As has often been the case during the Monza weekend, he also emphasised what it means to represent Ferrari at the Scuderia’s home Grand Prix.
“It hurts not to be out in front on pole position here,” Lewis Hamilton began. “It remains an immense honour to have the opportunity to race at Monza dressed in red. I simply want to give something special to all the fans tomorrow. We are continuing to make progress as a team: tomorrow we will have to be flawless, execute a perfect race and attack flat out from the first lap to the last.”
Ferrari therefore heads into the Italian Grand Prix knowing that qualifying did not deliver the front-row result it had targeted. Charles Leclerc sees tyre management as an important strength but expects serious difficulties on the straights, while Lewis Hamilton believes only a flawless race will give the Scuderia the opportunity to deliver the special Monza result its supporters are hoping for.
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