Lewis Hamilton qualified P4 in the Monaco Grand Prix. However, a 3-place grid penalty dropped him to P7 in a race that he stated he wanted to end. The race once again lacked overtaking action, and Hamilton was left racing alone in the streets of Monte Carlo.
Hamilton received a grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen in the qualifying session. He was able to make up places because of Ferrari’s strategy and managed to finish P5 in the race. All while his teammate, Charles Leclerc, clinched P2 and marked the team’s second podium finish of the season.
While Leclerc closed up on race winner Lando Norris throughout the race in an attempt for an overtake, the action-deficient racing in Monaco didn’t allow the pass. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton mentioned that he couldn’t wait for the race to end, given he was racing all alone. He called out the positives, mentioning the few cars he was able to get ahead.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Lewis Hamilton told DAZN. “I was pretty much alone the whole race. I overtook a couple of cars ahead. Without two stops, they could have just done one, so in that sense, I think it’s positive. But aside from that, I don’t know.”
“I was pretty much in my own world. I wasn’t at the front, I wasn’t at the back. I lost a lot of time with the traffic, and I need to figure out why. I lost more than the others. It’s not ideal, but we come away with some points, so that’s a positive.”
One of the reasons for Hamilton’s frustration in the race was his penalty. Although he was running in fifth place, he was 50 seconds behind the car in front. This left him out of any possible racing action that he could have been part of.
Ferrari boss explains Lewis Hamilton lost 10 extra seconds compared to his competitors
Lewis Hamilton was one of the few drivers who were able to make moves within the top 10.He overcut VCARB’s Isack Hadjar and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. However, as he rejoined the grid, he faced a major issue.
Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur claimed that Hamilton lost a lot of time coming out of the pits because of the backmarkers. Compared to Max Verstappen, Vasseur stated that the Briton lost 10 extra seconds.
“He lost almost 10 seconds more than the others when he joined the group of cars who were lapped,” Vasseur said (via F1). “I don’t remember who was in this group, but it was a difficult time for him.”
“They were aware of the [lead] guys coming and a bit less with Lewis and he was alone. And compared to Verstappen who was ahead at this stage, we lost something like 10 seconds in this sequence.”
Although the team didn’t gain a lot of points overall considering Lewis Hamilton’s Monaco GP penalty that hampered his chances of a better finish, the race reflected an overall improvement in the car’s performance.
