P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Lewis Hamilton has said McLaren “had the pace” to win at Monza, and that it could have made a one-stop strategy work.
Lewis Hamilton believes McLaren could have won the Italian Grand Prix if they had managed the pace of the race and their tyres better. The Mercedes driver thinks that McLaren “pushed too hard” which led to the early deterioration of their tyres during the 53-lap race at Monza. Oscar Piastri’s swift pace after taking the lead on the first lap was too much for McLaren to handle. Lando Norris, falling to third after an incident with his teammate, was brought in early to try to gain an advantage over Charles Leclerc. Ferrari realized that Leclerc could manage his tyres well enough to finish on a one-stop strategy. Hamilton, finishing fifth, disagreed with Norris’ statement that McLaren couldn’t have done a one-stop strategy, believing they could have if they had maintained a slower pace.
