Ferrari could be in contention for a very popular pole position in front of their adoring Tifosi at Monza on Saturday with McLaren not as comfortable as Lando Norris would like
Lando Norris admitted McLaren are under threat as rivals line up to challenge for pole position at Monza on Saturday. And Lewis Hamilton is one of those who could shine in qualifying after Ferrari showed promise in front of their adoring fans in practice.
The Brit cannot take pole as he will serve a five-place grid penalty carried over from last Sunday’s race at Zandvoort. But he showed he means business at Ferrari’s spiritual home by going fastest in first practice while both he and Charles Leclerc were in the top five at the end of Friday’s second session.
Norris topped the timesheet in FP2 but the Ferraris, title rival Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen and even the Williams of Carlos Sainz were all within two-tenths of a second. And that has the Brit feeling uncomfortable heading into a crucial qualifying session for his season after his engine failure last Sunday damaged his title chances.
Norris said: “Normally by this point, we have a one-second gap on everyone but, at the moment, it looks a bit close for my liking.
“It wasn’t bad, I feel like there are small things to improve and for us to still be P1 I thought was good. I thought we improved some stuff from FP1 to FP2, but it’s a bit close. So I need to try to make the gap a bit bigger so I’m a bit more comfortable.”
Hamilton was roared onto the track when he first emerged from the garage, getting an even louder ovation than Leclerc received. Which is no small feat considering the Monegasque is the darling of the Tifosi who has won twice at Monza in a Ferrari.
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“It was pretty incredible, an amazing feeling leaving the garage,” the seven-time champion said. “The whole experience, to come here and drive out of the garage in the red car, it was all I ever thought it would be and more.
“FP1 was a good session and, in FP2, we made some changes in the car which was a bit worse, so the good thing is we can go back on that. I’m definitely happy. The McLarens are obviously still very fast and it’s very close with everybody in the top five, top 10, so it will be a challenge.”
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Hamilton is not allowing himself to dream of a fairytale on Sunday, knowing he has a grid penalty to serve and that overtaking is tough at Monza. But he said: “I obviously have that penalty, which is unfortunate, but better to have it now than next year.
“Wherever I qualify, I’m starting five places back from that. It’s going to be really difficult to overtake because we’re all so close. But I do feel optimistic, and I do feel like I can potentially move forward.”
