Charles Leclerc has confirmed that Ferrari did not consider the option of Lewis Hamilton giving him a tow during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix, despite speculation that such a strategy could have boosted the Monegasque’s chances of pole at Monza.
Hamilton, competing in his first Italian Grand Prix weekend as a Ferrari driver, carried a five-place grid penalty into qualifying as a result of a yellow-flag infringement during reconnaissance laps at the Dutch Grand Prix.
It meant that regardless of his qualifying result, the Briton’s best possible starting position would be sixth on the grid.
Given that limitation, some observers suggested Ferrari might use Hamilton to provide Leclerc with a slipstream down Monza’s long straights. Such a move could have helped Leclerc challenge Red Bull and McLaren at the top.
But Leclerc has now revealed that no such plan was put on the table.
“Not really” discussed with Ferrari
When asked directly if a Hamilton tow was ever considered as part of Ferrari’s approach, Leclerc dismissed the idea.
"It wasn't decided that way," he said, confirming it was "not really" discussed at all within the team.
The 26-year-old did, however, leave the door open to future conversations about using slipstream tactics between the two Ferrari drivers.
"Yeah, it's something we'll discuss with the team now, but obviously we need to... It's always tricky to get it perfectly right, and Lewis is still fighting to be starting as further up as possible.
“So yeah, we'll discuss about it, but I don't think it's the main point of today."
Leclerc on qualifying: “We maximised the package”
Leclerc eventually qualified fourth fastest, with Hamilton just behind in fifth. The seven-time world champion will line up in 10th on Sunday, while Leclerc will lead Ferrari’s hopes from the second row.
Speaking after the session, Leclerc was upbeat about his own performance:
"I'm happy in a way that I think we've maximised the package that we had today and I think I did a really good first lap in Q3," he told the media.
"Unfortunately, in the second run of Q3 I was a little bit in the front with nobody, or just Yuki [Tsunoda], in front but that makes a big difference here.
“So there wasn't much more we could have done, but I think we did a good job maximising the result now, and now we'll look at tomorrow. I think McLaren and Red Bull are too far ahead for now."
With McLaren and Red Bull looking stronger over a single lap, Ferrari’s attention has now shifted to converting a second-row start into a podium finish in front of the tifosi.
While slipstreams and strategy dominated the pre-qualifying chatter, Leclerc’s comments make it clear: Ferrari’s drivers were left to fight their own battles on track, without team-managed tow tactics.
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