02/09/2025 08:20
Charles Leclerc has not ruled out the possibility of Ferrari
springing a major upset at the Italian Grand Prix, despite a
'season-worst' performance in the Netherlands. Ferrari posted a
double DNF at Zandvoort after Lewis Hamilton crashed by himself and
Leclerc was taken out by Kimi Antonelli, both at Turn 3 after what
Leclerc had called the 'worst Friday of the season.' The team
regrouped slightly for qualifying and was looking set for a strong
double points finish before the incidents, with the team on the
back foot heading to its home race at Monza. Leclerc is the
defending race-winner at Monza, having pulled off a surprise win in
the 2024 race with a one-stop strategy against the two-stopping
McLarens, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris expected to dominate
once again this weekend. However, despite coming off what he
described as the worst Friday practice the team had endured,
Leclerc did not rule out a shock Monza repeat. "We can see
positives in every situation, but I'd rather look at it as a very,
very disappointing weekend," Leclerc told media, including
RacingNews365. "We were struggling from FP1 to qualifying, and the
race was better, but especially after the holidays, to have a
Friday like we had, we cannot afford to have any other Friday like
that because it definitely has an influence on the rest of the
weekend. "This track has everything our cars hate, so I think
Monza will be a more positive track, but whether we can target a
win, I don't think so, because McLaren will be incredible there.
"But never say never, I mean, last year, I would never have thought
we could fight for a win."
