One or two Tifosi had probably already prepared themselves to cheer Ferrari’s new savior on Saturday: After setting the best times in the second and third training sessions, as well as the fastest lap in Q2, Lewis Hamilton was one of the favorites for pole position in Monza.
So it’s no wonder that the Briton is feeling disillusioned and disappointed after finishing sixth: “Oh, I’m really pissed off,” said Hamilton after qualifying: “Absolutely pissed off because I should have been on pole! I think it should have been at least the first row on the grid.”
However, next year’s Ferrari driver is only too happy to admit the reason for his anger: “I just didn’t manage to do the job in the end, I lost a tenth and a half in turns one and two, then another tenth in the last corner. So there’s no one to blame for that, except myself.”
But the record world champion’s difficulties in qualifying are nothing new; rather, they are a common thread throughout Hamilton’s Saturdays in 2024: “Qualifying has been my weakness for a while now, and I just can’t understand it,” said Hamilton, who at least remains combative: “I’ll keep trying.”
Hamilton slaps himself down: “Absolutely ridiculous of me”
The Briton may have finished ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, but behind both Ferraris and especially his team-mate George Russell, who at least secured third place on the grid for the Silver Arrows. But Hamilton would have even dared to fight with the McLarens at the front…
Instead, “I’ll probably be kicking myself a bit for the next few hours,” the Briton admits, and is certainly not sparing in his self-criticism: “I just didn’t get the most out of it,” says Hamilton: “Absolutely ridiculous of me, completely unacceptable. That’s totally my fault, nobody else’s.”
Hamilton, however, explicitly praises his team: “We have a good racing car and the team did a fantastic job this weekend. The car feels so much better than yesterday and than in the last race. And the team deserves better. Maybe they can get that with Kimi,” explains Hamilton in reference to successor Antonelli, who was officially announced on Saturday morning.
Wolff believes: Slipstream could have caused damage
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff sees the matter much more relaxed after qualifying than his visibly frustrated driver, defending Hamilton: “We are talking about such a small difference. I mean, it’s half a tenth or so that makes the difference between three or four positions, so you can’t really say we messed up,” the Viennese explained to Sky with a view to the result.
Regarding Hamilton’s problems, Wolff says: “I think Lewis was perhaps a bit too close (to the car in front). And now we believe that the slipstream does more harm than good. Because you drive around with these cars in such turbulence. And that may have been it.”
Turbulence from the car in front, instead of a clear ride, is something Hamilton will definitely have to deal with in the race – the next reason for the Briton to be annoyed: “The chance I had to fight for the win is out the window. I think tomorrow I just have to try and catch up as much as I can and see if I can get past the Ferraris and maybe challenge for the podium.”
In this specific case, however, it might be difficult for the Tifosi to celebrate…
Source: www.sport.de
