Lewis Hamilton admitted his Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix retirement was “painful” after what he felt had been a weekend of genuine progress, with the Ferrari driver insisting the incident came as a “complete surprise”.
The British driver had been pushing hard in the opening stint when he lost the rear of his Ferrari at the banked Turn 3 on Lap 23, ending his race on the spot. The incident marked his first retirement since the 2024 United States GP and his first DNF for Ferrari.
Starting from seventh on the grid, Hamilton settled into the race behind George Russell in a battle for sixth place. He was unable to get past in the opening stages of the race, leaving him to ponder his strategic options with an undercut.
However, disaster struck for Hamilton as he ran wide on the banking and lost control of his car before slamming into the barriers in his attempts to return to the circuit.
The incident prompted a Safety Car period, significantly affecting his team-mate Charles Leclerc, who pitted the lap before onto the Hard tyre.
His retirement marked another disappointing outing as the British driver has now failed to score points in the last two races.
Speaking after his shock exit, Hamilton admitted the mistake left him stunned and frustrated, having felt strong pace in his SF-25 throughout the weekend.
“Yeah, I didn’t really want the undercut necessarily at that time, I was just saying that we would have to probably try and undercut them at some point,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Yeah, I wanted to go long, and so my tyres were still feeling good. That took me by complete surprise what just happened there. I’d lost the rear end at the bank and then that was it.
“Apart from that, it’s been a really solid weekend, and we made lots of, I felt like I made progress, just overall, my approach and everything, and so to come away with nothing is definitely painful.”
Hamilton vows quick recovery as focus shifts to Ferrari’s home race at Monza
Reflecting on the costly mistake, Hamilton conceded he was left disappointed to miss out on points he felt were within reach, but stressed that his confidence and momentum remain intact heading into next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
“I feel okay, I feel okay,” he added. “Yeah, I’m sad for the team as I said, because I really wanted to get those points for the team today, and I honestly felt like I had the pace on the cars ahead of me, so I was hoping to see real progress in the race, and then that happened.”
Asked about the crash itself, Hamilton revealed he had hoped to recover the moment but was powerless to prevent the car from sliding into the barrier: “I was hoping to save it, but I didn’t.”
Despite his rare error, Hamilton was adamant it wouldn’t linger in his mind, insisting he would quickly regroup for Monza: “No, I’ll get over it by tomorrow, get back on it next week.”
With the Italian Grand Prix up next week, Hamilton is determined to turn the page quickly and channel his optimism into a redemption drive for Ferrari on home soil.
READ MORE – Lewis Hamilton crashes out of F1 Dutch GP
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