Lewis Hamilton prepared to sacrifice qualifying to help Charles Leclerc

Lewis Hamilton says he would be willing to aid Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc’s bid to win the Italian Grand Prix if the opportunity arises.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton carries a five-place grid penalty for a pre-race yellow flag infringement at Zandvoort last weekend into his first Monza race as a Ferrari driver.

Hamilton and Leclerc have a point to prove heading into Ferrari’s biggest weekend of the season after both crashed out of the Dutch Grand Prix last time out as the Scuderia suffered a nightmare double DNF.

The spotlight and pressure surrounding Ferrari and their drivers is huge as they prepare to race on home soil amid an underwhelming and disappointing 2025 campaign so far.

Although he doubts such a scenario will unfold, Hamilton would be happy to provide Leclerc with a slipstream in qualifying to boost the Monegasque’s bid to secure a higher grid spot and potentially fight for pole position.

Asked if giving Leclerc a tow in qualifying had been discussed at Ferrari ahead of the weekend given his penalty, Hamilton replied: “No, but I know that Ferrari used to do it many years ago. I remember when I started at least, I noticed Kimi [Raikkonen] and Felipe [Massa] used to do that often.

"It can be beneficial, but in my past, it felt like there was more risk, and often one person had to be sacrificed for it. So, I’m not sure whether they will do that this weekend. It’s not been discussed.

"But if it meant getting Charles there, then I would be happy to play that role.”

Former Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was asked if the team had resorted to such tactics in the recent past.

“Not recently. No,” the Spaniard replied. “We were just going for normal train tows, no specific teammate strategy.”

Best possible start for Ferrari

Hamilton and Leclerc got Ferrari’s home weekend off to the perfect start by finishing one-two in opening practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was 0.169 seconds faster than Ferrari stablemate Leclerc in Friday morning’s FP1 session, with Williams driver Sainz three-tenths adrift in third.

Ferrari do tend to perform well at Monza, with Leclerc brilliantly winning last year’s Italian Grand Prix to send the Tifosi into raptures.

Leclerc did have a brief scare when he was noted for a red flag infringement after overtaking a Sauber but the stewards decided there was no need for a full investigation, accepting there was nothing he could have done.

It remains to be seen whether Ferrari’s promising early pace will translate into the rest of the weekend, and crucially, in qualifying and the grand prix, when it matters most.