Lewis Hamilton says he “almost crashed” during a “dangerous” Q3 session as drivers toured around slowly in a bid to pick up a tow from a rival.
Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix takes place at the high-speed Monza circuit, with the impact of receiving a slipstream leading to a benefit of several tenths of a second per lap.
During the closing minutes of Q3 the field toured around slowly, with several drivers blocked, and only Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. made it to the chequered flag to start a lap.
Hamilton’s initial benchmark left him second on the grid, just 0.039s behind pole-sitter Leclerc, and was left to rue the situation.
“Obviously the drag is a big issue here, the tow is the key to getting a good lap,” said Hamilton.
“Everyone was slowing right down, and also blocking the way, so you couldn’t really get through. It was pretty dangerous.
“I almost crashed a couple of times, trying to stay out of the way and guys braking ahead of me, and people coming past me.
“But nonetheless, Charles did a great job. I was a bit unfortunate with Kimi [Raikkonen’s] spin in front of me, so I had to lift in the last corner.
“It would have been nice to be able to compete on that last lap, get to really thrash out the cars and see who really had the edge at the end. Unfortunately, we all timed out.”
Hamilton suggested that Formula 1 teams will adapt their tactics for future events.
“We had a couple of people I think holding everyone up, trying to let people pass by,” he said.
“It was a bit of an anti-climax, for all of you. Maybe they should have extended the session or something. I’m not really sure how we can get around this.
“Everyone brake-testing and slowing down to let others past just to get the tow, I’m not sure how we’re going to get around that in the future. I wish I just went out earlier, went out there and did a clean lap.”
