Hamilton and Leclerc explain why Ferrari lost its way in Italian GP qualifying

Monza, Italian GP 2026 – There was a moment in Q2 that signalled trouble: Lewis Hamilton was in the danger zone, just 0.001s ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto. When Charles Leclerc could only manage ninth, 0.007s behind Hamilton, Ferrari knew that the dream of taking its first pole position of the 2026 season was slipping away. Autosport has decoded the reasons behind that lifeless performance, and the answer is not downforce but energy. On a track with four long straights, Ferrari arrived at Monza with high hopes after its new power unit solved part of the deficit to Mercedes and Red Bull. But once qualifying began, the SF-26’s power unit did not allow the drivers to use enough energy at the decisive moments. Q2 was where everything nearly unravelled. Hamilton and Leclerc ended up 10th and ninth respectively, more than 0.6s behind Q2 pacesetter Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton admitted he was happy with the car and made almost no changes from FP3, but things began to deteriorate when the team had to wait because Leclerc did not want to be the first car out. The plan was push, cool tyres, push again, but only one real push lap happened. Hamilton described it as a stumble by the whole team. Ferrari fared slightly better in Q3. Leclerc was only 0.075s behind George Russell on the first runs, while Hamilton regained rhythm after receiving a tow from his team-mate. But when Russell improved and Pierre Gasly took a surprise pole, Ferrari had no answer. Leclerc finished fourth, Hamilton fifth, and both were promoted to the second row after Oscar Piastri received a three-place grid penalty for impeding Liam Lawson. Hamilton believed the Q2 issue was not a lack of pure speed but the team’s focus on giving each driver an equal tow. He said the mechanics fitted the tyres late, leaving him almost last in the queue for the first Q3 run. He went out about 25 seconds behind everyone, lost his rhythm and struggled especially with braking when there was no car ahead to provide a tow. Leclerc pointed to a clearer technical issue: energy management. Although the new engine helped, the SF-26 still lost more than 10 km/h on the straights compared with the Alpine and Mercedes cars. On his final Q3 lap, Leclerc concentrated his deployment on the exit of Variante Ascari, but it only allowed him to match Russell’s top speed. Hamilton’s GPS data told the same story. The key difference was between Leclerc’s Q2 and Q3 laps. In Q2, the acceleration gained on the Ascari exit disappeared, leaving him around 5 km/h slower. More precisely, on his final Q2 lap with new tyres, the battery system was not delivering enough energy, so the lap was nowhere. Leclerc had to hope his earlier lap would be enough to reach Q3 – it was, but by only 0.007s. Ferrari’s Monza story goes beyond an unlucky qualifying session. It shows how fragile the margin is between a team capable of fighting for pole and one that starts from the second row. When energy deployment becomes a puzzle, every calculation about steering angle, tyre load and braking point loses its meaning. From my experience of following many qualifying sessions, a team that talks more about energy management than downforce is usually hiding a real concern. Ferrari can be pleased that both cars are on the second row, but top speed remains king at Monza. Leclerc hopes the SF-26’s cornering speed will help them survive, but once they have to defend on the straights, their tyre strategy will be bent out of shape. Sunday’s race is expected to feature the yo-yo racing seen at other energy-poor circuits in 2026. Ferrari must solve the energy equation, otherwise Gasly could repeat what Alpine did on Saturday: turn engine power into a historic moment. Leclerc said the team got through Q2, but the level of uncertainty was not what a big team should experience at Monza. Hamilton looked further ahead, noting that 59 points is a huge deficit, especially with Mercedes still leading the way on speed. All he can do, he said, is go to the track and do the best job possible. Monza has never forgiven those who lack straight-line speed. Ferrari has just received a cold reminder, and the real answer will only come after 53 laps of racing.