“I was really shocked,” claims Hamilton as he reflects on his brutal penalty for Monza
Having been hit with with a five-place grid penalty for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted the he was shocked when he found out the decision.
Lewis Hamilton showed impressive pace in the early stages of last Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix, but his race ended early after a crash at Turn 3. On Lap 23 of 72, the Briton put a wheel on the slippery white line amid light drops of rain and lost control of his Ferrari.
While he initially looked to catch his SF25, he ultimately slid into the wall at the exit of Turn 3, and had to park up as his car suffered significant front-end damage.
Things then got even more complicated for Hamilton as he has been slapped with a five-place grid penalty by Formula 1 stewards for breaching the yellow flags rules before the start of the Zandvoort race.
It means that the seven-time F1 champion will serve a five-place penalty on Sunday. Pressed on to reflect on the stewards’ decision which puts a dampener on proceedings for the driver who has the record for most victories at Monza, Hamilton admitted that he was shocked when he found out the hardsh penalty.
“I don’t know how the other drivers felt about the decisions from the last race, but when I landed back home and saw I got this penalty, I was really shocked. But it is what it is. It’s obviously not black and white.
“If you look at the report, I did lift, but to their liking, not enough. To get the penalty and penalty points is pretty hardcore. But I learn from it. There’s no point whinging about it. I’ll move forward.
“It’s going to be challenging this weekend. Qualifying is already so close between us all. Just getting into Q3 is tough, getting into the top five is very tough.
“And then on top of that, to be set back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari. But it gives me more to fight for, and I’m very motivated to make up those places regardless,” concluded Hamilton.
