'Leclerc has to win next three races to have a chance against Verstappen'

Ferrari need to get back to work after the summer break as the team are trailing badly in the championship. Ferrari will feel a lot of pressure from the fans and Italian media especially at the Italian Grand Prix, so the team must make sure it travels to Monza with success.

Much needs to change at Ferrari in the second half of the season. In terms of strategy, the Italians need to make better choices, but Charles Leclerc will also need to make fewer mistakes himself. "If Leclerc is going to do anything about the championship fight with Max, he has to win these three races. He has to leave Monza in three weeks time with three more wins in his belt", begins Tom Clarkson in the F1 Nation podcast.

The Briton expects Carlos Sainz to take on the role of second driver to help his teammate fight Verstappen. Ferrari have not had a clear-cut number one driver in the team so far, but Leclerc must take on that role if they are to have any chance of winning the title. The Monegasque is eighty points behind in the drivers' championship.

Ferrari must solve problems before Monza

"They’ve got to be on a good run going into Monza. You don’t want to turn up in Monza having had your pants kicked in the last three races. By the time we get to Monza, Ferrari will be determined to come out of the blocks after the break, having put to bed all the criticism they’ve had. Although they had a summer break and the factory shutdown for two weeks, it doesn’t stop them using the telephone or the internet. There should be some interesting meetings happening over the break", adds Damon Hill.

Especially Mattia Binotto will feel the pressure in Monza, Hill thinks. If the team cannot take home a win at Spa-Francorchamps or Zandvoort, it will be a tough weekend for the Italians at their home circuit. "If it doesn’t get fixed, by the time we get to Monza, he could be feeling the heat a little bit", says the singular world champion.