During the Italian Grand Prix qualifying at Monza, Ferrari decided against using Lewis Hamilton as a tow to boost Charles Leclerc‘s chances of securing pole position. Hamilton, who was facing a five-place grid penalty due to a previous yellow flag infringement at the Dutch GP, was not considered a contender for pole, but some expected Ferrari to use him to help Leclerc with a slipstream advantage down the main straight.
Despite this potential strategy, Ferrari opted not to pursue it, a decision that Hamilton supported. The seven-time world champion emphasized that sacrificing one driver to help another was not a tactic he agreed with, especially since he was already penalized and needed to maximize his own grid position.
Leclerc’s Qualifying Performance and Hamilton’s Perspective
Charles Leclerc entered Monza qualifying as a key challenge for pole, aiming to thrill the tifosi with a front-row start. Ultimately, he qualified fourth, falling short of the top spot. Hamilton outpaced Leclerc in the final segment but remained cautious due to his grid drop to tenth on race day.
Hamilton reflected on his approach to qualifying amid these circumstances, stating that he had focused on gleaning the most from the car despite setbacks. He noted the progress made since the previous race at Zandvoort as encouraging and expressed satisfaction with how the vehicle performed, particularly during the opening practice session.
“Do I feel like they should have? I don’t,”
Hamilton commented on the idea of being used as a tow for Leclerc. —Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver
“And I’ve already got a five-place penalty, so point-wise, I needed to be as high as I could.”
—Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver
“I’m happy with the progress through the weekend,”
he added.
“I think the progress from last weekend, and then carried that through this week, and so I’ve been relatively happy with the car, the progress.”
—Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver
Hamilton Reflects on Racing for Ferrari and Future Challenges
When asked about how racing at Ferrari‘s home event affected his motivation, Hamilton indicated that recent races had helped him refocus and appreciate the task ahead. He mentioned that understanding past challenges was less important than concentrating on performing well and absorbing the team‘s and fans’ support.
He acknowledged that the team’s current pace is still below what they desire but viewed the top-five results at Monza as a positive sign of progress. Hamilton remains committed to working closely with his engineers to extract more performance moving forward.
“We’re not where we want to be. We don’t have the pace that we want actually, and that is what it is. But, fourth and fifth today, it’s good to be close. That’s definitely progress, and I know I’ve got to progress from there, so I want to keep on working at it with my engineers to extract more.”
—Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver
Looking Ahead to Race Day Amidst Grid Penalty
Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from tenth position due to his grid penalty. With the tight qualifying results, where less than seven-tenths of a second separated all ten drivers in Q3, overtaking will present a significant challenge.
However, Hamilton remains optimistic about utilizing Ferrari’s strong top-end speed to navigate through the field. He emphasized the importance of a strong start, an effective first lap, and sound race strategy to improve his position during the race.
“Well, obviously, with the penalty and everyone being so close, it’s going to be, naturally, tough to overtake everybody ahead of me,”
Hamilton said.
“But we’ve got good top-line speed, so I’m really hoping that I can try to make up some ground. Need to do that. Probably a good start, a good first lap, good strategy.”
“We will go away now and try and figure out what we can do to try to leapfrog the guys up ahead of me, if possible.”
—Lewis Hamilton, F1 Driver
As the Italian GP unfolds, all eyes remain on Hamilton’s ability to recover from his grid drop and on Ferrari’s strategy choices without relying on tow tactics, reflecting a focus on individual performance and fair competition within the team.
