Lewis Hamilton Praises Ferrari’s New Engine Despite Italian GP Deficit

Mercedes driver George Russell topped Friday practice at the Italian Grand Prix by 0.120 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, according to Yahoo Sports. Hamilton finished the session fifth, placing 0.457 seconds off the leading pace while also finishing behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli and McLaren driver Lando Norris. Hamilton detailed a major deficit on the track’s straight sections. Just looking at the deltas there, I was losing something like 0.6secs to George on the straights, which is something we need to look into, Hamilton said, as reported by Yahoo Sports. The British driver also pointed to differing mechanical approaches between teams. The engine is an improvement, which I’m really grateful for the guys back at the factory for working on, but our (energy) deployment schedule is different to the others, our competitors, Hamilton said, according to Yahoo Sports. Seems like they maybe have less drag for the straights.

Ferrari Engine Upgrade And Competitor Views

While Ferrari evaluated their newly introduced power unit during Friday practice, rival teams offered differing assessments of the Scuderia’s pace. Antonelli, who leads Hamilton and Russell by 59 points in the world championship standings, suggested that Ferrari had closed the gap. Ferrari definitely took a step forward with the new engine and now the speeds are the same, Antonelli said, according to Yahoo Sports. We know how good their car is in the corner and for sure it’s going to be a tight fight for pole tomorrow.

Antonelli faces a grid penalty at the Italian Grand Prix for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components, meaning he will start the race from the back of the grid. Mercedes elected to take the penalty at Monza despite the impact on Antonelli’s home race prospects, banking on the circuit’s long straights to aid a recovery drive.

Handling Difficulties And Qualifying Strategy

Beyond straight-line deficits, Hamilton reported balance issues during the second practice session. It was really difficult to pull a lap out of the car, Hamilton said, according to Yahoo Sports. It was not an easy one to drive in P2 for some reason. We made a couple of changes but it shouldn’t really have been bad. We are going to look and see if we can make the car better for tomorrow.

With slipstreaming playing a major tactical role at Monza, grid positioning and track position remain paramount for qualifying. Hamilton indicated that securing a tow from a competitor would be a priority during the session. The tow is everything here so likely to be looking for the tow, Hamilton said, as reported by Yahoo Sports.