Hamilton ‘shocked’ by Dutch GP penalty but positive for Monza mission

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was left “shocked” after Dutch Grand Prix stewards handed him what he described as a “pretty hardcore” post-race penalty that impacts his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver.

The seven-time world champion’s weekend at Zandvoort ended in disappointment when he crashed out of seventh place on lap 22 at Zandvoort’s tricky banked Turn 3.

But that frustration was compounded when he later discovered he had been penalised for failing to slow sufficiently under double-waved yellow flags on his way to the grid.

“Of course. I landed back home and saw I got this penalty, and I was really shocked to be honest,” Hamilton said when asked at Monza on Thursday if the ruling was frustrating.

Spared a Heavier Sanction

The stewards noted that Hamilton did lift but not enough to satisfy regulations, sparing him a harsher sanction. Nonetheless, the Briton was hit with a five-place grid drop for Sunday’s raceat the Temple of Speed and two penalty points on his superlicence.

“It’s obviously not black and white,” he explained. “The fact is, if you look at the report, I did lift but to their liking not enough and so that’s why they are saying it’s not more.

“To get the penalty and get penalty points is pretty hardcore but I'll learn from it and there’s no point whinging about it. I’ll move forwards.”

Hamilton acknowledged the setback leaves him with a tougher task than expected on Ferrari’s home soil.

“It’s going to be challenging this weekend. Qualifying is already so close between us all so just getting to Q3 is tough, getting in the top five is very, very tough,” he conceded.

“Then on top of that to be set back five places is not great when you are going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari. But it gives me more to fight for and makes me motivated to make up those places regardless.”

Investigating the Zandvoort Crash

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said after Zandvoort that the squad would investigate whether a technical problem contributed to Hamilton’s race-ending accident.

Hamilton confirmed that a thorough analysis revealed multiple factors behind the crash, which overshadowed what had otherwise been one of his smoothest weekends in red.

“Throughout the weekend the approach that we had I think was spot on,” Hamilton said. “I felt like it was one of strongest and smoothest weekends, up until Sunday, that we had.

“Sunday was obviously not the result that we want. I said that it’s unusual for me because I don’t really make a lot of mistakes in races like that.

“But the great thing is that the team remained really, really positive. They are incredibly supportive every single weekend. Even though personally you don’t feel great about it, they lift your spirits.

“The following day they were deep-diving to try and really understand what led to it, because it wasn’t a case of a lack of concentration. There were several things that contributed to it.

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“For example, I had a downgraded upshift which locked the rear wheels and spat the rear-end out. Also it was spitting so I was like 10mm or 10cm wider than on the previous lap.

“There were a combination of things, either way it’s not great, I’ll learn from it and move forwards. But if I apply the same approach this weekend and to the following races, I really feel positive about the direction we go.”

With Ferrari’s passionate Tifosi cheering him on this weekend, Hamilton is ready to channel his frustration into a spirited performance on one of Formula 1’s most historic stages.

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