Ferrari can’t mess it up now, surely?
CHARLES LECLERC put Ferrari on pole in front of the hollering Italian fans, which prompts one question: how can they mess it up this time?
Will it be Plan A for amateur? Plan B for blunder? Plan C for comedy? Plan D for disaster?
The Scuderia have run the full gamut of the calamity rainbow through strategic naivety, weak leadership and driver error. It is a travesty given how fast and promising their car was when the campaign began and their hopes were brimful.
Here all eyes are on Leclerc, the nearest challenger to Max Verstappen, who is expected to start seventh after taking a five-place grid penalty, but still an Everest-tall 109 points away.
The pole man looked as chilled as a limoncello as he smiled his way around the paddock last night, his eighth pole of the season secured. But Monza, where he triumphed in 2019, brings super pressure when you are driving a red car and employed as their No1 driver at that. There is the 125,000 crowd rooting for him. Fans gather at his hotel gates for a selfie morning and night.
And he is the most in-demand driver among the ambushers who wait as close to the paddock as their general admission tickets allows.
Piling on more scrutiny is the presence of John Elkann, president of Ferrari, and, as the grandson of Gianni Angelli, a very important magnifico indeed. That is not all, mind: the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, is calling in. He will form part of the official party for the minute’s silence in salute to the late Queen on the pre-race grid. Leclerc, 24, said of his qualifying result: ‘It feels really, really good. We still need to finalise this tomorrow, otherwise it is pointless getting pole, but it is still a nice surprise considering where we came from, especially in Spa two races ago.’
If the need for improvement were not obvious enough, it was underlined by Elkann in his first statement for a long time on Ferrari’s mercurial form.
Asked about team principal Mattia Binotto’s position, he said: ‘We have great faith in Mattia and appreciate everything he and all our engineers have done.
‘But there is no doubt that the work in Maranello, in the garage, on the pit wall and at the wheel needs to improve.
‘Putting our trust in Binotto and his team was the right decision and it has paid off.
‘Thanks to them we are competitive and winning again. But I am not satisfied because I think we can always do better.’ Elkann added that the target is a world championship by 2026.
Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris move up from seventh and sixth in qualifying to second and third after nine drivers are handicapped by penalties.
Lewis Hamilton is among the sanctioned group and is due to start at the back after taking on a fourth power unit, one more than is permitted in a single season.