Hamilton given five-place grid drop for Italian GP

Ferrari’s home race in Italy on Sunday, where Lewis Hamilton was stopped for slowing due to double yellow flags before the Dutch Grand Prix, will earn him a five-place grid penalty.

The Italian team’s overall miserable weekend came to an end with Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both witnessing separate crashes.

Hamilton did not adhere to the race directors’ pre-race instructions that were given to all drivers, instructing them to slow down their speeds enough at the pit entrance to ensure the safety of both drivers on the grid and in the pit lane.

The stewards acknowledged that Hamilton did attempt to slow down and brake earlier, which would ordinarily have resulted in a 10-place grid drop.

Team principal Fred Vasseur urged Ferrari to “stay calm” for the rest of the season following Ferrari’s challenging time at Zandvoort.

Hamilton and Leclerc both received zero points in round 14, and Mercedes, who finished third, has now cut the gap to just 12 points thanks to George Russell’s fourth-placed finish.

Hamilton was the first to pull out of the race after oversteering at Turn Three in light rain, which caused him to crash into the wall from seventh position. He claimed on BBC Radio 5 Live that he was “uncertain” of what transpired but that he “couldn’t recover it.”

Leclerc was the innocent party as Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes moved the Monegasque out on the other side of the same corner.

Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, has had a frustrating first season working for Ferrari. His pole-positioning sprint victory in China marked his only significant breakthrough since his $1.5 billion acquisition of Mercedes-Benz.

Before the summer break, he qualified for the Hungarian Grand Prix and placed 12th overall, calling himself “useless” after failing to make Q3. He was a shock elimination in the first qualifying period in Belgium, and he later admitted that the outcome was “incredibly painful.”

Vasseur claimed that Hamilton’s latest setback in the Netherlands had not stifled the 40-year-old’s confidence in either the car or himself before the grid penalty was imposed for Monza.

“Overall, Lewis’ response was positive; it was a good recovery from two difficult races before the break. However, this was definitely not what we anticipated,” Vasseur remarked about the double retirement.

“This has been much more encouraging than the previous four or five races. It was much better than what he did at the previous Budapest race. I could tell that there was a boost in confidence and good preparation for Monza.

Hamilton, who is sixth overall in the drivers’ championship, agreed with Vasseur that the team could improve upon the weekend’s positive aspects.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live, “It was a little twitchy, the car, but I think we made some progress and my pace was pretty good.”

Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix last year, placing him ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and he is anticipating a strong weekend’s race.

He declared, “I’m looking forward to]Monza.”

“There will be a lot of positive energy throughout the week, despite how busy it will be. I’m anticipating that because there is always a lot of support.