Charles Leclerc believes Monza pole is ‘on the cards’ after Ferrari’s positive Friday ahead of Italian Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc believes that a pole position in front of the Tifosi at Monza is “on the cards” as things stand, after an encouraging day for Ferrari ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

Leclerc finished both one-hour sessions at the Monza Circuit second, each time only fractions slower than the outright pace-setter, which proved to be Ferrari team mate Lewis Hamilton in the opening session.

The Monegasque, who claimed an unlikely victory 12 months ago at the venue, admitted that the SF-25 was proving to be tricky to drive, as highlighted by going off at Ascari, but that it was also looking quick.

“On low fuel and high fuel it’s been quite tricky but fast,” he said.

“I’d rather be in this position than having a consistent car that’s slow but we need to work a little bit on consistency. I think on the short runs we managed to extract more or less what there was in the car, however, for tomorrow we need to get that consistency and we are working on that.”

“That’s a difficult question,” he added when asked if achieving pole on Saturday was realistic.

“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.”

Hamilton, who will compete at Monza as a Ferrari driver for the first time, was also optimistic about his and the team’s chances this weekend as he searches for his first Grand Prix rostrum with the Scuderia.

The Briton topped FP1 and finished FP2 fifth, less than two-tenths slower than the fastest lap in the session.

“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,” said Hamilton, who will be hit with a five-place grid penalty, which has carried over from the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.

“Lots of positives to take from today and we’ll do some work overnight and I hope that tomorrow we can be better. 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.”