Charles Leclerc hopes Ferrari has put recent troubles behind after taking pole at Monza on Saturday to give the Italian team a big chance of winning at home.
The Monaco man is in prime position to register his first win since Austria in early July, thanks to his eighth pole of the season, which came after a swift final qualifying lap around the Temple of Speed, which Putting him 0.145 seconds ahead of championship leader Max. Verstappen.
He also benefits from having nearly half the drivers at the Italian Grand Prix affected by grid penalties, including defending champion Verstappen, who was docked five places on Friday for exceeding his engine allocation.
A victory in front of massive Ferrari fans would be the perfect antidote to a campaign littered with mishaps and blunders.
The nadir came in a ridiculous team performance at last weekend’s Dutch GP, which was punctuated by errors including erratic pit-stops, unsafe releases in the pit lane and erratic strategy calls.
“It is not because we are here at Monza that it is more important than other races not to make a mistake,” Leclerc told reporters.
“We need to be a team that makes no mistake wherever we go. Yes it’s a special weekend for us but the goal doesn’t change for us, we just need a clean run and a good run.”
It was Ferrari’s 22nd pole at Monza on the famed Italian constructor’s 75th anniversary, marked by a yellow dash on the team’s livery this weekend.
Leclerc will try to cut Verstappen’s 109-point lead at the top of the drivers’ standings in front of Ferrari chairman John Elkann.
– ‘Special’ Monza –
A descendant of the Agnelli family said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport published on Saturday that a world title would come before 2026 and added that Leclerc is in “pole position” to claim the first drivers’ crown for Ferrari since 2007. was.
“Monza is always special, getting pole position here is always special, always incredible,” Leclerc told Sky Sport Italia later.
“I think we have found something. We need to confirm it tomorrow because it is tomorrow that matters but such a positive Saturday gives us something to smile about.”
Leclerc will note that Verstappen fielded Spa-Francorchamps from 14th place to win the Belgian Grand Prix last month.
The Red Bull driver is on the verge of four consecutive GP victories and was confident he could score his first win at Monza – where he has never gotten on the podium – despite a grid penalty.
“I just need to do a clean lap, clear the cars between us quickly and I think we still have a good chance,” he told reporters.
George Russell, who posted the sixth-fastest time in qualifying for Mercedes, will start with Leclerc in the front row due to grid penalties to Carlos Sainz, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton.
A total of nine drivers have been kicked off the grid, starting with Yuki Tsunoda alongside Sainz and seven-time champion Hamilton.
Second in line after the raft of sanctions is the McLaren affair of Lando Norris and last year’s Monza winner Daniel Ricciardo.
Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine occupied the third row, with Verstappen joining Nick de Vries in the fourth row.
Making his debut after stepping in for Alex Albon at the last minute, de Vries was thrown into the F1 deep end.
Williams driver Albon, 26, had to leave the GP on Saturday after being diagnosed with appendicitis.
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