Grid penalty gives Hamilton ‘more to fight for’

Grand Prix in Italy

Dates: 5-7 September Race start time: 14:00 BST on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton says his five-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix in Italy “gives me more to fight for” at his first race at Monza for Ferrari.

The seven-time champion was penalized for slowing down enough to pass the yellow flags during the practice sessions for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc both crashed out at Zandvoort, but the Briton’s penalty wasn’t decided until after the race.

Hamilton claimed he was “shocked” to learn that he had received the penalty.

He continued, “I lifted. but not enough, to their dismay. It was pretty hardcore to get the penalty and (licence) penalty points.

This weekend will be challenging because of it. We are already so close as a couple. It’s difficult to enter Q3 and the top five alone, respectively.

Hamilton visited the Ferrari factory in Maranello on Wednesday, where fans also gathered outside the gates, and on Wednesday attended a concert in Milan in front of about 7, 000 fans.

The seven-time world champion admitted to feeling “pinchy” about his new job as a Ferrari driver.

To be in Milan at the heart of it all and witness how passionate they all were, he continued, “I really tried to harness all the positive energy they gave us. There is obviously so much love for this brand.

Despite winning the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton has struggled to achieve podium status for the team.

With 109 points, he leads leader Oscar Piastri, who is currently sixth in the drivers’ championship.

Hamilton, however, claimed that he and the rest of the team were progressing and that he was “on the brighter end of the tunnel.”

He continued, “This one is actually living the dream and participating in Ferrari races.”

You can still expect things that you didn’t foresee happening, even though I had the entire year to think about it and try to prepare.

“Both my team and I have had a lot of adjustment to accommodate me,” he said.

They have actually altered the world to accommodate me. There are unmistakable cultural differences.

“Fred (Vasseur, the team principal) said that they may have underestimated the problems the team has encountered in the year leading up to the car.

Carlos Sainz received a 10-second penalty in the Dutch Grand Prix after colliding with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, and Williams has requested a right of review.

Sainz described the penalty as “ridiculous” during the Zandvoort race, and he claimed on Thursday that he had a different perspective after speaking with the stewards following the event at Monza.

It’s important for us to understand how to compete in the future, Williams said in a statement, and we’re optimistic about a positive outcome.

It was obvious to Sainz when they realized probably the decision they made wasn’t the best one once they had all the right evidence in place and looked at the locations they needed to make the right choice, Sainz said.

You can clearly see why I should have never received a penalty as soon as you examine the onboard footage and examine it in detail, he continued.

“But the situation with Lewis can be resolved in the opposite way.” Perhaps the decision-making process in the Lewis incident was too lengthy, and he is now facing a penalty in Monza despite the fact that he didn’t do anything wrong.

He was given a 30-minute break during the race to pay a fine for his infraction. That demonstrates how challenging the process is, how challenging everything is to handle, and why there must always be improvements and need for drivers, FIA, and GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association) to work together to try to come up with better solutions.