Lewis Hamilton was ‘shocked’ by the decision to hand him a five-place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion failed to slow adequately for yellow flags on the reconnaissance laps at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, leading to a post-race punishment from the stewards.
A double-waved yellow flag zone was implemented at the final corner of the Zandvoort Circuit for the laps to the grid with the purpose of keeping staff working on the grid safe. Hamilton slowed down on his approach to the pit lane, but not enough to appease the stewards, who deemed his speed too extreme and hit him with a five-place grid penalty, as well as two penalty points.
Ahead of his first Monza outing with the Scuderia, Hamilton was asked about the punishment. “I was surprised when I heard about the penalty, but it is what it is,” he replied. “I have to live with it.”
The topic resurfaced in the FIA press conference on Thursday, too. “I landed back home and saw I got this penalty, and I was really shocked, to be honest,” he explained. “It’s not black and white. I did lift, but to their liking, not enough.
“To get the penalty and penalty points is pretty hardcore, but I’ll learn from it. It will be hard this weekend. Qualifying is tight, and to be set back five places is not great going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari. Gives me more to fight for, and makes me motivated.”
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