Ferrari were hoping to put a rough weekend at Zandvoort behind them in front of their home crowd, but their search for a first win of the 2025 season continues.
The Dutch Grand Prix ended early for both drivers, with Lewis Hamilton crashing out on lap 23 and Charles Leclerc later caught up in an incident with Kimi Antonelli.
Monza looked like the ideal place for Ferrari to get back on track, especially with Hamilton calling on fans to back the team before the race. And they answered, giving the Briton an even bigger cheer than Leclerc as he lined up for his first Italian Grand Prix in red.
Hamilton started further down the order after a grid penalty carried over from Zandvoort but worked his way up to sixth. Leclerc, meanwhile, was in the hunt for a podium early on, but eventually finished fourth.
Ferrari mechanics felt Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc produced the ‘maximum’ they could at Monza
Even though Ferrari moved 20 points ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, there was still disappointment as neither driver made it onto the podium. Verstappen took the win, followed by both McLaren drivers.
Despite this, there was a sense among the Ferrari mechanics that Hamilton and Leclerc had extracted everything possible from the SF-25. As reported by Aaron Deckers via RacingNews365, there was not much more they could have done.
“Well, of course. It all looked a lot better, actually. Also, free practice on Friday, Saturday morning,” said Deckers via RacingNews365.
“Only in qualifying they were suddenly, well, maybe a bit exaggerated, but they were actually beaten well by Verstappen and by the McLarens. And in the race pace, they just really came up short.
“So it was mainly a bit of disappointment, especially from the Ferrari drivers. The team was still quite optimistic actually, as we just spoke with some mechanics and also within the team.
“There was a bit of feeling of, ‘OK, this was the maximum we could do, and yeah, what more could we do than that?’
“We also spoke briefly with Jean Alesi, former Ferrari driver of course, and he got the chance to stop the interview because Flavio Briatore came by.
“But it also suited him very well, because when it came to Ferrari, you could actually see that he looked very despondent, like, ‘Do we really have to talk about this?”
Ferrari believed they could challenge McLaren at Monza but fell short
The mood around Ferrari before their home race was hopeful. There was quiet confidence that they might take another step forward on familiar ground. Many inside Maranello felt they had a real shot at challenging McLaren – even if few said so openly.
Piastri finished four seconds ahead of Leclerc in third while Verstappen won by 25 seconds. Hamilton crossed the line in sixth place over twelve seconds behind his teammate but remained upbeat about his performance throughout Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Nico Rosberg was delighted to see Lewis Hamilton’s renewed positivity, a stark contrast to previous race weekends where he felt Hamilton lacked confidence in his new car.
The seven-time champion stated that it feels almost like a restart to the season after spending time away from F1 during August’s summer break. But only time will tell if both he and Ferrari can build momentum after their strong showing at Monza.
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