‘Everyone’ at Ferrari is ‘convinced’ about what Lewis Hamilton could do at Monza but no one ‘dares’ admit it

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Lewis Hamilton goes to Monza for his first F1 Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver this weekend, straight off the back of his first DNF racing in red in last Sunday’s Dutch GP.

The 40-year-old’s wait for his first Grand Prix podium for the pride of Italy reached 15 rounds at Zandvoort after he found the outside wall at Turn 3 on Lap 23 of 72. Hamilton crashed out of the Dutch GP after the rear of his SF-25 stepped out on the damp, painted advertisement.

Ferrari even endured a double DNF at Zandvoort, as Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli crashed into Charles Leclerc in the Dutch GP, too. The Italian wonderkid misjudged a chance to overtake Leclerc at Turn 3 on L53 and understeered into the Monegasque, who spun out.

Crashes for Hamilton and Leclerc at Hugenholtzbocht during Sunday’s Dutch GP also meant Ferrari left with only a 12-point lead in their scrap with Mercedes for second place in the F1 constructors’ championship. Red Bull rank 46 points adrift of Ferrari ahead of the Italian GP.

‘Everyone’ at Ferrari is ‘convinced’ they could challenge McLaren in the Italian Grand Prix

Ferrari are also the only one of the top four teams still yet to win a Grand Prix in the 2025 F1 season ahead of round 16 of 24 at Monza this Sunday. Yet Motorsport.com now reports that ‘everyone’ in Maranello is ‘convinced’ that Ferrari could challenge McLaren in the Italian GP.

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McLaren have won 12 of the 15 Grands Prix so far this season, with Oscar Piastri’s Dutch GP win his seventh of the year. Piastri and Lando Norris have also earned nine pole positions in 2025. Leclerc secured Ferrari’s only pole of 2025 at the Hungarian GP by 0.026s over Piastri.

But Ferrari’s engineers are convinced that the layout of the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza will suit the SF-25, even if ‘no one’ in the team ‘dares’ to admit publicly that they could fight for victory again on home soil. Leclerc took his second Italian GP victory in the 2024 season.

While McLaren have dominated the 2025 campaign as the MCL39 suits every circuit, Ferrari feel Monza being the Temple of Speed should bring the SF-25 into play at the Italian GP. The circuit’s high-speed layout can even help the Maranello outfit hide their car’s ‘serious flaws’.

Ferrari feel Monza could mask the SF-25’s ‘serious flaws’ to fight for their first win of 2025

Ferrari have invested heavily in preparing for the 2025 Italian GP, as the Scuderia believe the flat surface at Monza can allow them to run Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars lower to the ground. The team have had problems all year with not being able to optimise the SF-25’s ride height.

READ MORE: The most successful F1 drivers at the Italian Grand Prix of all time at Monza

Despite Hamilton and Leclerc retiring at Zandvoort, the Dutch GP gifted Ferrari a big positive as they avoided excessive floor plank wear despite making last-ditch set-up changes to run their drivers’ cars lower to the ground. Ferrari need a low ride height to find their car’s pace.

So, with Ferrari optimistic that Monza’s flat circuit surface will let them run a low ride height without risking excessive wear to Hamilton and Leclerc’s floor planks, they dare to dream of a record-extending 21st Italian GP win. No other team has won the race more than 11 times.

Leclerc won the 2024 Italian GP for his second victory at Monza after the 2019 edition to get Ferrari’s past two home wins. The 27-year-old capitalised on Piastri overtaking Norris at the start of the 2024 Italian GP to split the McLarens, before Ferrari aced his one-stop strategy.