Breaking: Lewis Hamilton Reacts to Grid Penalty After Max Versttapen’s Cl…read more
Lewis Hamilton Reacts to Grid Penalty After Blocking Verstappen in Monaco Qualifying
Lewis Hamilton will start the Monaco Grand Prix from seventh after being handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen during Q1 on Saturday.
The incident happened as Verstappen approached the uphill section toward Massenet. Hamilton, unaware Verstappen was on a flying lap, moved into the Dutchman’s path. Although both progressed to Q2, the moment drew the attention of race stewards.
Hamilton Shares His Perspective
After qualifying, Hamilton explained the confusion stemmed from mixed messages from his Ferrari team.
“There was some kind of issue with the computer display,” Hamilton told reporters. “At first, it showed Max was on a flying lap, so I moved aside. Then it suddenly said he wasn’t, so I accelerated again — but I was still off the racing line. I think that might’ve thrown Max off.”
Verstappen, for his part, didn’t hold Hamilton personally responsible, instead criticizing Ferrari’s team radio communications. He was told Hamilton had slowed down and was three seconds ahead, when in reality, Hamilton was still at speed — which compromised Verstappen’s lap.
Stewards Rule Against Hamilton
The FIA stewards reviewed the incident and determined that Hamilton’s car entered the typical racing line Verstappen had used on earlier push laps. As a result, Verstappen was forced to alter his line and abandon the lap.
“Car 1 had to react to Car 44 moving into the racing line,” the stewards’ report stated. “This confirmed that Car 1 was clearly impeded.”
They also acknowledged that Hamilton received incorrect information from Ferrari, but said that did not reduce the responsibility.
“Previous cases have shown that inaccurate team messages do not serve as a mitigating factor in these situations,” the report concluded.
Grid Shakeup
Hamilton’s penalty promotes Verstappen to fourth, placing him just behind his title rival Oscar Piastri. Hamilton will now line up in seventh for Sunday’s race.
