Lewis Hamilton prepared to play 'sacrificial lamb' in Charles Leclerc fight with McLaren

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed he will be "happy" to be sacrificed in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix if Ferrari asks him to aid Charles Leclerc's cause.

Hamilton and Leclerc showed strong pace throughout practice at Monza, with the Monégasque second quickest at the end of FP3, just 0.021s behind pacesetter Lando Norris in his McLaren.

Hamilton, who had spearheaded a Ferrari one-two in first practice, was seventh on the timesheet after the final session, a quarter of a second adrift, to offer the Tifosi hope of a reasonable showing from their heroes on home soil in what has been a difficult season overall.

The seven-time F1 champion, however, goes into qualifying with a five-place grid penalty hanging over him from last Sunday's race at Zandvoort, where he was penalised for not slowing sufficiently under double-waved yellow flags, and on the subsequent approach into the pit lane.

It leaves Leclerc as Ferrari's sole hope to put pressure on Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was fourth fastest on Friday, in a bid to land what would be a surprise pole position.

One possibility, as it is a tactic that has been deployed in the past on occasion at Monza, and providing both drivers make it into Q3, is that Hamilton provides a tow for Leclerc, on the back straight, in particular, that leads to the Parabolica.

It is difficult to accomplish, but is an option open to Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur should the chance arise.

Assessing the prospect, Hamilton said: "I know that Ferrari used to do it many years ago.

"I remember when I started, I noticed Kimi [Raikkonen] and Felipe [Massa] used to do that often.

"It can be beneficial, but in my past, it felt like there was more risk, and often one person had to be sacrificed for it, so I’m not sure whether they will do that.

"But if it meant getting Charles there, then I would be happy to play that role."

Carlos Sainz, who spent four seasons at Ferrari as Leclerc's team-mate, also finds himself in contention for a high grid slot this weekend after finishing third quickest in practice for Williams.

As to whether he and Leclerc attempted the tow, he said: "Not recently. No.

"We were just going for normal train tows, no specific team-mate strategy."