MONZA: Lewis Hamilton says Ferrari’s new engine represents “an improvement”, but Mercedes still holds a significant advantage on the straights ahead of qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.

Mercedes driver George Russell set the fastest time in Friday practice, finishing 0.120 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Hamilton was fifth, 0.457 seconds off Russell’s pace, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris also finished ahead of the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton highlighted Ferrari’s straight-line deficit as a major concern, saying he was losing around 0.6 seconds to Russell on the straights during his fastest lap.

Lewis Hamilton Says Ferrari Engine Is an Improvement

Hamilton praised Ferrari’s engineers for the progress made with the new power unit but admitted the team still needs to understand why Mercedes is gaining so much time on the long straights.

“The engine is an improvement,” Hamilton said, crediting the Ferrari factory team for its work. However, he explained that Ferrari’s energy deployment strategy appears different from those of its rivals.

Hamilton also suggested Mercedes may be running with less aerodynamic drag, allowing its cars to achieve stronger straight-line performance around Monza’s high-speed layout.

Ferrari may also have more performance available from the new engine, as the team was unlikely to reveal its full potential during the opening practice sessions.

Mercedes Hold Straight-Line Advantage Over Ferrari

Kimi Antonelli offered a more positive assessment of Ferrari’s progress, saying the new engine had helped bring Ferrari’s straight-line speeds closer to Mercedes.

The Italian said Ferrari had “definitely taken a step forward” and believed the two teams were now closely matched on speed. He also expects Ferrari to remain a major threat because of its strong performance through the corners.

Antonelli currently leads Hamilton and Russell by 59 points in the championship but will start the Italian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after receiving a penalty for exceeding the permitted number of engine components.

Mercedes deliberately chose Monza for Antonelli to take the penalty because the circuit’s long straights could provide opportunities to overtake and recover positions.

Race-simulation data also gave Mercedes reason for optimism. On hard tyres, Antonelli was only 0.038 seconds per lap faster than Russell, while McLaren was around half a second behind. Hamilton and Leclerc were less than two-tenths behind Mercedes on soft tyres.

Lewis Hamilton Faces Qualifying Challenge at Monza

Hamilton also struggled with the balance of his Ferrari during Friday’s second practice session, describing the car as difficult to drive and saying it was hard to extract a strong lap.

The Ferrari driver said the team would study the data overnight and make adjustments before qualifying.

One of the biggest factors in qualifying is expected to be the slipstream, or tow, created by cars running ahead. At Monza, where long straights dominate the lap, gaining a tow can provide a substantial advantage.

Hamilton is scheduled to choose whether to run before or after teammate Leclerc during qualifying and indicated that he would likely seek a tow.

McLaren’s Norris also admitted his team was struggling more than expected. Although Norris has won the last two races from pole position, he said Monza had exposed weaknesses in both straight-line speed and high-speed corners.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was ninth fastest, 0.818 seconds off Russell’s benchmark, although the different tyre strategies used during race simulations made direct comparisons difficult.

Friday’s data nevertheless suggested that Mercedes and Ferrari are currently the leading contenders heading into the remainder of the Italian Grand Prix weekend.