Hamilton explains Ferrari's 'stumble' in Monza qualifying as tow gamble nearly backfires

Lewis Hamilton has explained Ferrari's chaotic Q2 at the Italian Grand Prix, where a risky waiting game for a slipstream almost backfired. Both Ferraris scraped through by the skin of their teeth—Hamilton by just 0.001s—before qualifying fourth and fifth, later promoted to third and fourth after Oscar Piastri's penalty, while Pierre Gasly took a shock pole.

Why it matters:

Ferrari arrived at Monza as a genuine contender in practice, but a disjointed qualifying strategy left them vulnerable. With championship leader Kimi Antonelli starting at the back, the Scuderia now has a golden opportunity to capitalize on home soil and close the gap in both championships.

The details:

• Ferrari chose to wait in the garage in Q2, hoping to avoid leading the train of cars. Charles Leclerc didn't want to be the first out, so the team delayed—almost too long.
• Hamilton revealed the plan was a 'push-cool-cool-push' but the grid-wide waiting game meant everyone got only one flying lap, leaving Ferrari out of rhythm.
• In Q3, Hamilton's car wasn't ready in time. "I didn't have any wheels on the car basically, and everyone left whilst my engine was running," he said. He went out 25 seconds behind, losing the crucial tow.
• "We just stumbled," Hamilton admitted, saying the team was too focused on equal tows rather than pure pace.
• The seven-time champion was still confident in the car: "I was really happy with the car. Didn't change anything going into qualifying for like the first time ever."

What's next:

With Piastri's penalty promoting both Ferraris to the second row, Hamilton and Leclerc have a fighting chance. Hamilton noted it "gives us a fighting chance hopefully with George, and then that's one Mercedes up front, so hopefully that gives us a chance to work as a team to try and double up." A strong result at Monza could reshape the title narrative.