Lewis Hamilton: Ferrari driver says team's execution of Italian GP qualifying could have been better after 'very tough' session

Ferrari had been tipped to contend for pole at their home Monza race but never truly appeared in the hunt at any stage of the knockout sessions with the Scuderia eventually outpaced in Q3 by three Mercedes-powered cars - including Alpine surprise polesitter Pierre Gasly.

Oscar Piastri's later three-place grid penalty means Charles Leclerc and Hamilton will still both start on the second row in third and fourth places respectively.

That final result could be viewed as fortunate given Ferrari's drivers had finished only ninth and 10th quickest in Q2, with Hamilton just avoiding a shock early exit at the hands of Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto by 0.001s.

Reflecting on how his session had gone in a qualifying dominated by drivers trying to ensure they had a slipstream-boosting 'tow' on track, fifth-fastest Hamilton told Sky Sports F1 : "It was definitely very, very tough, yes.

"The car felt really good in practice and in qualifying I didn't change anything, so I felt good going into Q1, and Q1 was solid.

"Then we sat and waited, and we waited very long in the pit lane for the first run of Q2, and for some reason we just didn't have the pace. I'm not really sure why, whether it was tyre pressures, tyre temperatures or whatever, so we need to look into that.

"Then execution in Q3 was pretty bad. I ended up out in the middle of nowhere with nobody, and then when you're following another car, you arrive several kilometres faster into a corner, so the braking distances adjust. It's all about getting into rhythm, and I got really out of rhythm for Q3, run one.

"Q3, run two, it wasn't a terrible lap but the references were all different, and we ultimately didn't maximise."

Third-placed Leclerc described qualifying as "a big struggle", pointing to "many issues in the background that we had to deal with".

Leclerc added: "I'm pretty sure if we speak in the paddock, everyone had some issues, because it's one of the most difficult tracks to optimise the power unit on. But that's not an excuse.

"Pierre and Alpine did everything perfect and I think they surprised everyone in the paddock by doing a perfect job. I'm very happy for Pierre by the way.

"Now it's our job to try and recover what we kind of lost on our own today. I don't think pole was possible but one place better was probably doable and we need to target on maximising everything and today we didn't."

Can Ferrari overcome Mercedes' straight strengths in race?

Despite their Saturday difficulties, Ferrari remain at the sharp end of Sunday's grid and therefore cannot be counted out of victory contention, although Mercedes' George Russell will likely remain favourite to win the race from second on the grid.

Ferrari have introduced an upgraded engine at Monza, which was expected to boost their victory chances, but Hamilton says Mercedes continue to hold an edge on straight-speed.

"I think we have a really great car," he said.

"It's all Mercedes engines up ahead of us and I think we've done a good job to be as close as we are to them, but they're ultimately gaining several tenths still on the straight. That is what it is, and so we have to just do the best we can.

"We're hoping for some tracks that don't maybe rely too much on power in the future, but I'm really grateful to the guys back at the factory because they did bring a upgrade here, they are really pushing. This is just the situation that we're in."

Leclerc hopes that potential differences in approach to energy deployment around the high-speed lap in the race could still offer up opportunities for the Scuderia amid expectations of a return to the 'yo-yo' racing of earlier in the season.

"On the straights, Mercedes are very strong. In the corners, we are very strong but we are going to be very exposed on the straights and to attack will be difficult," he said.

"But the deployment could make a huge difference one way or another and give us the opportunity to overtake. We will have to play it smart and see where we end up."

Sunday September 6 7.10am: F3 Feature Race 8.40am: F2 Feature Race 10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race 12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up 2pm: THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX 4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP reaction 5pm: Ted's Notebook

Formula 1 is at Monza for Ferrari's home race at the Italian Grand Prix with Sunday's race live at 2pm on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime