Charles Leclerc confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will have priority in Ferrari’s qualifying at the Italian GP, which takes place this weekend in Monza. According to the Monegasque, the choice is part of an alternating system between the drivers and does not mean favoritism within the team.
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The decision comes after questions about Ferrari’s stance at the Dutch GP. Hamilton was behind Leclerc with a different strategy, but the team waited a few laps before calling the Monegasque for the pit stop.
About qualifying, Leclerc explained that the priority to choose the position in the slipstream hunt is alternated between the drivers: “For the slipstream, I think we’ve always had kind of the same philosophy over the years, where once Lewis has priority to choose where he wants to start and on another weekend it’s me.”
“This weekend Lewis will have priority, so I think he will look for the slipstream. If we are going to compromise one’s qualifying instead of the other, I don’t think that will happen. But, of course, if we can help each other by trying to start the lap at the ideal distance between us, that will be done. And I will try to find another slipstream or another person, hoping to put myself in the best possible position,” he explained.
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Leclerc also revealed that Ferrari and the drivers are already analyzing how to avoid the so-called ‘back-and-forth’ during Sunday’s race.
“We started analyzing this a few days ago and trying to understand. It is also very, very difficult to predict because the thing is that, when you are in the car, it always looks nice from the outside. But the difference is sometimes so big that it becomes very difficult to react to the car in front. So it’s not that you can’t avoid the ‘back-and-forth’ if you end up in a situation like this, but we will try to do the best possible job and try to do better.”
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