Leclerc wary of Red Bull and McLaren's sandbagging, but makes bold Monza claim

08:30, 06 Sep

Updated: 09:55, 06 Sep

byNorberto Mujica

Ferrari have hit the ground running in Monza, with a 1-2 in FP1 and with Charles Leclerc taking P2 in the second practice session. Can these results be converted into pole come qualifying? The Monegasque answers.

For Leclerc it was a consistent Friday, albeit if not the most comfortable one at least it was fast overall with the Monegasque taking two consecutive P2's in both practice sessions.

"On low fuel and high fuel it's been quite tricky but fast," he admitted.

"I'd rather be in this position than having a consistent car that's slow but we need to work a little bit on consistency."

In the qualifying simulations, though, Ferrari proved to have a handle on things, despite Lewis Hamilton's dip in performance in FP2.

"I think on the short runs we managed to extract more or less what there was in the car, however, for tomorrow we need to get that consistency and we are working on that," explained Leclerc.

Is Monza pole a possibility for Ferrari?

But is a pole position at Monza in fornt of the tifosi, a realistic scenario for Ferrari? "That's a difficult question," the Monegasque replied.

"For now I think it's on the cards but I don't know how much Red Bull and McLaren have pushed just yet.

"I think they have more than what we have in the pocket. We still need to improve the car but if we do then I think there's a possibility," Leclerc concluded.

For his teammate, Hamilton, a hard fought Italian Grand Prix awaits after he received a five-grid penalty drop for disregarding yellow flags as he approached the pit entry in Zandvoort before the start of the race.