Ferrari gave their fans plenty of reasons to be excited on Friday at Monza. Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looked strong throughout the practice sessions, and for once, the Scuderia seem to be right in the mix at the sharp end of the field.
Leclerc was consistently quick, finishing both FP1 and FP2 in second place—just fractions off the outright pace each time. His teammate Hamilton actually topped the opening session, making it a dream start to the Italian Grand Prix weekend for the team.
For Leclerc, though, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. He admitted that the SF-25 was a bit of a handful, even sliding off at Ascari at one point. Still, the raw speed was clearly there.
“On low fuel and high fuel it’s been quite tricky but fast,” Leclerc explained. “I’d rather be in this position than having a consistent car that’s slow. We need to work a little bit on consistency. On the short runs we managed to extract more or less everything, but for tomorrow we need to improve on that.”
When asked about his chances of taking pole in front of the Tifosi, Leclerc was cautiously optimistic:
“For now I think it’s on the cards. But I don’t know how much Red Bull and McLaren have pushed just yet—they probably have more in the pocket. If we improve the car, I think there’s a possibility.”
Hamilton, making his first Monza appearance as a Ferrari driver, also struck a positive tone. He topped FP1 and was only two-tenths off the pace in FP2, ending the session fifth fastest. Not bad at all, especially considering he’ll be carrying a five-place grid penalty from the Dutch GP weekend.
“FP1 was really, really strong,” Hamilton said. “FP2 was more of a struggle, but it’s better to have that in FP2 and learn from it. There are lots of positives to take, and we’ll do some work overnight. The McLarens are still very fast and it’s really close in the top five, top 10. It’ll be a challenge, especially with my penalty.”
So, the picture is clear: Ferrari are quick, but not without question marks. Leclerc thinks pole is possible, Hamilton is optimistic despite his setback, and the team will have the Tifosi roaring them on come Saturday.
The big unknown? Just how much performance Red Bull and McLaren are still hiding. If Ferrari can tidy up the consistency, this could be one of their strongest weekends of the season.
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