Lewis Hamilton bemoans grid penalty as Charles Leclerc targets pole position for the F1 Italian GP

Lewis Hamilton was left bemoaning his 5-place grid penalty for the F1 Italian GP as Charles Leclerc targets pole position for Ferrari. The first day of running at Monza was an intriguing one.

In FP1, we had a Ferrari '1-2' with Lewis Hamilton topping the session ahead of Charles Leclerc. In FP2, however, McLaren was slowly able to find its bearings, with Lando Norris at the top of the standings.

Charles Leclerc, however, was not too far behind either, as the Monegasque driver was in P2 again in FP2, less than a tenth behind Lando Norris. The last couple of races have been complete dominance from McLaren.

The medium- to high-downforce tracks in Hungary and Zandvoort aided the car's performance and put the team in a position where the chasing pack was just too far behind. In Monza, however, we have a lower downforce track, as premium is put on top speed and traction out of corners.

McLaren doesn't hold the same advantage in these sections, and hence we're looking at a shrunken field spread. Talking to F1.com, Lewis Hamilton felt that the day had been a positive one overall for him and the team, as he bemoaned the 5-place grid penalty that took him out of contention for better qualifying. He said,

"FP1 was really, really strong and FP2 was definitely much more of a struggle but it's better to have that in FP2 and learn from that rather than FP3. Lots of positives to take from today and we'll do some work overnight and I hope that tomorrow we can be better."

He added,

"I think the McLarens are obviously still very fast and I think it's very close with everyone in the top five, top 10, so [it] will be a challenge. It's not easy to overtake and I've obviously got that penalty which is unfortunate."

Lewis Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc targeting pole position

Just like Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc also had a strong Friday, as he was in P2 in both sessions. At the same time, however, he did recognize that there was a lack of clarity on what the rivals had been doing in terms of a run plan. Leclerc did, however, feel that pole position was something that he was targeting on Saturday, as he felt it was on the cards. He said,

"For now I think it's on the cards but I don't know how much Red Bull and McLaren have pushed just yet, I think they have more than what we have in the pocket. We still need to improve the car but if we do then I think there's a possibility."

Lewis Hamilton has won the race in Monza five times in his career, while Charles Leclerc has done so twice as well. The qualifying session on Saturday is going to be crucial for these drivers as they try to set themselves up for the race on Sunday.