Lewis Hamilton will benefit from a strategic advantage over Charles Leclerc at Monza. Ferrari plans to fully exploit slipstreaming during qualifying.
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Ferrari is meticulously preparing its home Grand Prix and the collaboration between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc could play a decisive role at Monza. With its huge straights and particularly high speeds, the Italian circuit makes slipstreaming a valuable weapon to gain precious tenths in qualifying.
This year, the phenomenon could even become more important with the new power units. When the available electric energy decreases at the end of the straight, the cars risk losing more speed. Positioning behind another car will then reduce aerodynamic drag and maintain a higher speed.
Ferrari already has a plan to organize its two drivers and, this weekend, Hamilton will have priority.
Hamilton will be able to choose his position
Leclerc clarifies that this is not a new hierarchy established by Ferrari between its drivers. The Scuderia has been using a rotation system for several seasons to determine which of its two representatives can choose their position in the queue first before starting their flying lap.
This time, the choice goes to Hamilton.
“For slipstreaming, we have always applied the same philosophy over the years. One weekend, Lewis has priority to choose where he wants to position himself, and the next, it’s me,” explains Leclerc.
“This weekend, Lewis will have priority. So I imagine we will try to take advantage of slipstreaming.”
This position could allow the seven-time world champion to more easily choose the car behind which he wants to position himself before his flying lap.
Ferrari will not sacrifice Leclerc
The Monegasque insists on one point: Ferrari has no intention of deliberately compromising one driver’s qualifying to favor the other.
The goal will rather be to coordinate the two SF-26s so that each benefits, as much as possible, from favorable conditions.
“Are we going to sacrifice one driver’s qualifying for the other’s? I don’t think that will happen,” assures Leclerc. “If we can help each other by trying to start our lap with an optimal distance between our two cars, we will.”
If Hamilton directly benefits from his teammate’s slipstream, Leclerc will therefore look for another car likely to offer him the same advantage.
“On my side, I will try to find the slipstream of another car hoping to position myself in the best possible situation.”
Slipstreaming even more important with 2026 engines
This organization could take on particular importance with the new characteristics of the power units. The much larger share of electric energy considerably changes how drivers manage the long straights.
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When the battery starts to run low on energy, speed can decrease noticeably. Taking advantage of another car’s slipstream then becomes particularly interesting as it reduces aerodynamic drag.
At Monza, where a large part of the lap is at full throttle, a poor track position could therefore cost much more than on other circuits.
Managing traffic during the last minutes of Q1, Q2, and especially Q3 should thus become one of the major challenges of qualifying.
The return of “yo-yo” races?
The issue will not necessarily disappear on Sunday. Monza’s characteristics could favor the return of a phenomenon observed during the first Grands Prix of the season: the so-called “yo-yo” races.
A car can benefit from slipstream and quickly close in on the one ahead before losing ground again when its electric energy decreases. These speed differences can become significant enough to make reactions difficult to anticipate from the cockpit.
Leclerc acknowledges that Ferrari has already been studying this phenomenon for several days.
“For the race, that’s a very relevant remark. We have started studying this for several days to try to understand what could happen.”
A situation difficult to anticipate
Even with simulations carried out in Maranello, the Ferrari driver believes it will be practically impossible to precisely predict how these speed gaps will manifest in the race.
“It’s also very, very difficult to predict because, when you’re in the car, things are different from what you can observe from the outside,” he explains.
“Sometimes, the difference is so big that it becomes very difficult to react to what the car in front of you is doing.”
Ferrari will nevertheless try to better manage these situations than during the first races of the season.
“It’s not like you can avoid yo-yo races when you find yourself in this situation. But we will try to do the best possible job and manage it better.”
Hamilton will therefore indeed have priority over Leclerc this weekend at Monza, but only within the rotation system used by Ferrari to organize its qualifying. In the Temple of Speed, this small strategic preference could nevertheless be worth precious tenths when fighting for pole position.
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