P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton bemoaned Mercedes becoming “slower” relative to the competition across Formula 1’s Italian Grand Prix weekend as he came home in a distant fifth. Mercedes appeared on course to bounce back from a torrid outing at Zandvoort when Hamilton topped the times in the second and third practice sessions at Monza. But although he […]
Despite setting the fastest time in the second segment of qualifying, Lewis Hamilton struggled in Q3 and started in a disappointing sixth position at Monza. He gained one place at the start due to a mistake by his teammate George Russell, but was unable to keep up with the Ferrari and McLaren drivers during the race, finishing over 20 seconds behind the winner, Charles Leclerc. Hamilton attributed Mercedes’ difficulties to excessive tyre degradation and a lack of overall speed compared to their competitors. He believed that a higher starting position could have allowed him to challenge Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for a better result.
Hamilton emphasized the need for Mercedes to analyze why they were unable to match the performance improvements made by their rivals over the weekend. He acknowledged that more upgrades were planned for the upcoming races but was uncertain about their impact on closing the performance gap. Despite experiencing a drop in form in the races following the summer break, Hamilton remained hopeful that the team’s continued development would allow him to compete for victories before his transition to Ferrari in 2025.
