Juan Pablo Montoya expects the Ferrari garage to be the liveliest place in Monza this weekend – and not just because of the tifosi.
The former Formula 1 race winner is predicting “a lot of drama” between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at the Italian Grand Prix, as the two Ferrari drivers chase glory at the Scuderia’s home race with a car capable of winning.
Ferrari scent blood at home
Ferrari arrive at Monza with a revised livery paying tribute to Michael Schumacher and, crucially, with the pace to fight at the front. With Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli carrying a grid penalty, the door has opened for the Maranello team to attack.
Lando Norris, fresh from a recent victory, and George Russell in the other Mercedes are expected to be in the mix, but Montoya sees the real tension brewing inside the red garage.
“Ferrari has done a really good job this year with the car,” Montoya said on F1 TV’s Weekend Warm-Up. For him, the combination of a competitive package and the weight of history at Monza is combustible.
“What we're going to see is a lot of drama between the team-mates this week because whoever beats the other here, for them, it's a big honour, especially if they have a shot of winning the race.”
At Monza, beating your team-mate in a Ferrari isn’t just a line on the CV. It’s a career-defining statement.
Dutch flashpoint lingers in the background
The tension has been building. Ferrari were criticised after the Dutch Grand Prix for not imposing team orders, a call that triggered a stream of agitated radio messages from Hamilton. The seven-time world champion later fronted up, admitting he hadn’t shown “the best version” of himself.
Montoya sees that mea culpa as part of a wider chess match.
“He’s just playing the game the right way,” he said of Hamilton’s public stance. “He needs to come out publicly and say, ‘I was too emotional and everything.’”
Asked whether he would have apologised in the same situation, Montoya didn’t hesitate to peel back the layers.
“Well, I don't think he really did either. He did the politically correct thing to do. He's playing the game, and they're all playing the game.”
The message is clear: harmony on the surface, hard edges underneath.
Hamilton vs Leclerc: status on the line
Behind the polite soundbites, both Ferrari drivers know what Monza represents. The team has given them a car that can fight; now it’s about who seizes the moment.
“At the end of the day, they want to beat each other, and they're coming here and Charles has found some speed lately as well. This race for them is a big thing,” Montoya said.
Leclerc, a past winner at Monza, arrives with renewed form. Hamilton, a serial champion stepping into Ferrari colours, has already made a show of embracing the mythology, turning up with an F40 and leaning into the romance of red.
Montoya believes that only sharpens the edge.
“If you're Charles and you see what Lewis did coming with the F40 and everything, it's like, ‘Oh, I really need to beat him this week.’ Those are the opportunities that you really want to get ahead of your team-mate.”
The scoreboard adds its own pressure. Hamilton sits 59 points behind Antonelli in the championship and level with Russell in second place. Leclerc is fifth, 87 points adrift of the Mercedes youngster.
So the stakes are layered: a title chase slipping away, internal bragging rights, and the roar of Monza demanding a hero in red.
Someone will walk out of the Ferrari garage on Sunday night as the man who owned Monza. The other will have to live with it all winter.
