Hamilton expresses delight with P6 finish: 'Really grateful'

Lewis Hamilton was overjoyed to bring his Ferrari home in sixth position at the Italian Grand Prix after starting from P10 on the grid.

The seven-time World Champion was forced to start on the fifth row of the grid at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza after failing to slow under double yellow flag conditions during the Dutch Grand Prix the previous week.

This was a notable setback for the British driver, who set the fifth fastest time during Saturday's Qualifying, just over a tenth slower than his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

Despite the circuit being a particularly difficult one to overtake on, Hamilton was determined to climb his way up the order come race day, stating that he would try to "wriggle" his "way through" during the Grand Prix.

Getting More and More Comfortable with The Car

Hamilton started the race very well, climbing three positions on the opening five laps culminating in a pass on fellow veteran Fernando Alonso at the Turn 1/2 chicane.

After passing Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto a couple of laps later, the Ferrari driver's progress slowed behind the Mercedes of George Russell.

An overcut on his former teammate didn't quite work out and the Briton eventually settled for sixth place across the line. The Italian Grand Prix was won by Max Verstappen for Red Bull, with the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri rounding out the podium in second and third respectively.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Hamilton stated that he felt very comfortable behind the wheel of his SF-25.

He said: "I definitely felt on top of the car today and I was really happy with it. A really good launch, got squeezed between a couple of cars so had to back off but was really happy with my position into Turn One and Turn Four.

"After that I got really close to George and in hindsight we should have tried to undercut him. Going long just didn’t pay off. That is something we’ll learn from," stated Hamilton.

A Spectacle for The Home Fans

The 40-year-old continued by expressing delight at putting on a show for the many Ferrari fans in the grandstands.

He added: "Otherwise after the penalty to move back to sixth after the penalty I’m really grateful. To be able to have a solid drive like that today in front of the Tifosi – it’s unbelievable driving here under this banner.

"I didn’t deserve to be on the podium today so I won’t be going to the podium but I’ll probably go out to the wall to see (all the fans)."

Hamilton concluded by reiterating the fact that he and Ferrari simply don't have the performance to keep up with Verstappen or the McLarens, and therefore a podium was far-fetched right from the get go heading to Monza.

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He stated: "Charles was giving it everything. Max is up there now. We don’t have the pace of Red Bull – today they were rapid – and we don’t have the pace of McLaren.

"So I think we are fourth, fifth. If we do an exceptional job we can maybe get a podium here or there. There’s a chance we can have that but in terms of pure pace we don’t have that," Hamilton voiced.

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