Lewis Hamilton has said he is not giving up on the prospect of a maiden podium with Ferrari at Formula 1‘s Italian Grand Prix, despite a grid penalty he was “shocked” to receive.
Hamilton arrives at Monza for his first Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, and has already received a fanfare welcome at its annual fan event in Milan on Wednesday.
But expectations will be realistic, as the seven-time World Champion has struggled consistently throughout the season amid his difficulty in adapting to a tricky SF-25 car.
And on top of that, his five-place penalty, given for ignoring yellow flags on a pre-race reconnaissance lap at Zandvoort, will make his task will steepen an already uphill task.
The race, however, presents itself as a perfect opportunity to show his best in front of the home support, having crashed out last week whilst running in the points.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s action, Hamilton revealed he found out about the grid penalty once he had arrived home, and recounted his surprise at receiving it.
“I don’t know how the drivers have felt about the decisions of the last race, but I mean, I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty and I was really, really shocked, to be honest,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“But I mean, it is what it is. It’s obviously not black and white. The fact is, if you look at the report, I did lift, but to their liking, not enough. But to get the penalty and get penalty points, it’s pretty hardcore. But I learned from it and there’s no point whinging about it. I’ll move forward.”
Hamilton admitted the weekend is going to be “challenging” due to Ferrari’s similarities in pace to rival teams, but said he was determined to overcome all obstacles.
“It’s going to be challenging this weekend,” he said. “Qualifying… it’s already so close between us all. So just getting in the Q3 is tough. Getting in the top five is very, very tough.
“And then on top of that, to then be set back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari.
“But it gives me more to fight for. And I’m very motivated to make up those paces, regardless.”
Hamilton ‘positive’ about Ferrari direction ahead of Italian GP
Hamilton conceded his crash at Zandvoort came as a “complete surprise”, but team boss Fred Vasseur intimated after the race that he had taken many positives from the weekend.
And this was something Hamilton corroborated at Monza, saying that whilst he was naturally disappointed about the crash, he was happy to “apply the same approach”.
“Definitely in the race,” he replied when asked if he had a positive feeling last time out. “And I think throughout the weekend, I think the approach that we had, I think was spot on.
“And yeah, I tend to, I felt like it was our strongest, one of our strongest. And Sunday was obviously both disappointing and unfortunate. That’s 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’re incredibly supportive every single weekend.
“Even though personally you don’t feel great about it, they lift your spirits. And then the following days, really, they were deep diving to try to understand what led to it, because it wasn’t a case of me. It wasn’t a case of a lack of concentration.”
Hamilton explained the reasons behind the crash, saying an upshifting issue and the changeable weather conditions had also played a part.
“There were several things that contributed to it,” he elaborated.
“So, for example, I had a downgraded upshift, which locked the rear wheels and spat the rear end out. But also it was spitting.
“So I was like 10 millimetres wider or something like that, or 10 centimetres wider than I was the previous lap. So there are a combination of things.
“Either way, it’s not great. And I learned from it and moved forward . So if I apply that same approach this weekend and to the following races, I really feel positive of the direction we go.”
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