Ferrari plan to “risk” strategy for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Imola

Ferrari intend to take risks with their strategy at the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc might need all the help they can get, after enduring a horrible qualifying session at Imola.

Leclerc will start Sunday’s grand prix from 11th, and Hamilton 12th.

It was certainly not a qualifying result which Ferrari’s adoring Tifosi expected, as they flocked to their first home grand prix of 2025 to see Hamilton wearing red.

"Thousands of Tifosi were here to support us and we did not get the job done so we cannot be satisfied with our result,” team principal Fred Vasseur said.

“It was a very tough day for us and, as was the case in Miami, we were not able to improve our times on the new tyres, doing our fastest lap (in Q2) with the first set from Q1.

“The tyre situation was strange for everyone, but it seemed to affect us more than the others and I also think we didn’t execute the session as well as we could have done.

"It will be up to us to try and see what we can do.

“Even if we had good race pace on Friday, here is not the easiest place to overtake so it will be a challenging afternoon and we will probably have to take some risks, specifically in terms of the strategy.

“We will focus on that now and try and do our best for the Tifosi."

Ferrari’s strategy calls have often been the source of debate, going back years before Vasseur or Hamilton’s time.

But Hamilton also expressed annoyance at strategy for the Miami Grand Prix which led to tetchy radio comments.

Ferrari plan 'risks' with strategy at Imola

After Leclerc was surprisingly eliminated at the Q2 stage of qualifying, he bemoaned finishing “P-nowhere”.

Even an upgrade to the Ferrari SF-25 could not bring them joy.

"On a technical track like this one, everything has to be perfect, and it showed,” Leclerc said.

“It’s disappointing, not just for us, but also for our Tifosi who come here to support us with so much passion.

“This gives us the motivation to come back tomorrow and give it everything.

“I’ll do a reset tonight and tomorrow I’ll fight to bring home the best result we can with what we have at the moment."

Hamilton said: "A tough one. The car felt good overall, but we just didn’t have the grip we needed on the final lap in Q2 and that cost us.

“This circuit makes overtaking a real challenge, so we know won’t be easy, but we’ll dig deep as a team and explore every option tonight.

“To the Tifosi, we know this isn’t the performance we wanted at our home race, but we’ll give it everything we’ve got and see what we can do."