Leclerc Ruled Out the Possibility of Repeating the Victory in Monza
Ferrari’s driver Charles Leclerc expressed his doubts about the possibility of replicating his emotional victory at last year’s Italian Grand Prix, considering that it would be difficult without external factors influencing Sunday’s race.
Leclerc secured fourth position on the starting grid for Sunday’s race, a special event for Ferrari in front of their home fans.
Despite his two previous victories for Ferrari in Monza, in 2019 and 2024, Leclerc acknowledged Max Verstappen’s advantage, who will start from pole position. Therefore, he minimized expectations of achieving a second consecutive home victory.
I think, in terms of pure pace, unfortunately we don’t have a chance. McLaren and Max’s Red Bull were too strong in terms of long runs. But with the start, with the top speed we have… it’s going to be difficult.
Charles Leclerc
Recalling unexpected results in previous years, such as Pierre Gasly’s victory in 2020 and Daniel Ricciardo’s in 2021, Leclerc insisted:
Yes, here are some special races. Once again, I will believe in it until the end and we will see what is possible. But, as for pure pace, I don’t think it’s possible.
Charles Leclerc
Leclerc also showed caution regarding the presence of the Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who will start in the third row behind him.
Leclerc added: “It would be great if we were on the podium tomorrow, which, as I said before, seems difficult in terms of pace.”
In the session, Leclerc had achieved the second-best time, just 0.1 seconds off Verstappen’s initial time in Q3, but he couldn’t improve while others did.
Ferrari’s tactics generated some controversy in the final moments of qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton, who qualified one position behind Leclerc, was penalized with five positions on the starting grid after the Dutch Grand Prix the previous week. In Monza, a circuit known for its long straights, Ferrari chose not to use Hamilton to give Leclerc a tow, despite the speed advantage that Leclerc could have obtained.
Leclerc seemed to allude to this in one of his answers to the media.
Leclerc stated: “I am happy to have maximized the package we had today and I did a very good first lap in Q3 and, unfortunately, in the second lap of Q3 I was a little alone in front with nobody, or only Yuki, in front. That makes a big difference here, so there wasn’t much more we could have done. But I think we did a good job maximizing the result.”
When asked about the idea of Hamilton helping Leclerc, he replied: “Yes, it wasn’t decided that way.” When asked if it had been discussed, he replied: “Actually, no.”
Added: “It’s something we’ll discuss with the team now. It’s always complicated to do it perfectly and Lewis is still fighting to get as far ahead as possible. So we’ll discuss it, but I don’t think it’s the main point today.”
When Hamilton was asked about the possibility of Leclerc benefiting from his slipstream, he said it didn’t make sense for his Sunday prospects. “I don’t think we needed to do it. It’s not something I’ve done in any of my other teams. Ultimately, we would potentially end up sacrificing one of the drivers, and I already have a five-place penalty, so, in terms of points, I needed to be as high up as possible.”
