Lewis Hamilton conceded it “wasn’t meant to be” for him at Monza after a mid-race penalty denied him a near-certain victory.
The Briton was leading by over 10 seconds from the two McLarens, this after teammate Valtteri Bottas had fallen down the field on Lap 1, but it all changed when Kevin Magnussen’s broken down Haas required a Safety Car to clear it.
“It was a weird sequence of events that maybe we could have spotted earlier,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff explained.
“The decisions that were taken were highly unusual, but they were absolutely within the rules.
“One of the Haas [cars] was parked to the right, near the [pit] entry, on the inside of Parabolica, and there was a single yellow. Eleven seconds later, a safety car was deployed.
“Once the safety car was deployed, they put the entry to the pit lane on red, but it wasn’t exactly red, it was two yellow crosses on the outside.
“One of the strategists just shouted into the radio whilst we were entering the pit lane. There was confusion.
“We can’t see the signs, and this is just a sequence of events that screwed Lewis’s race. Not happy, but you have to take it on the chin.”
The error of pitting when the pit-lane was closed meant the stewards gave Hamilton a 10-second stop/go penalty, the harshest on their list bar a disqualification.
And with a red flag coming out just two laps after the race resumed, following Charles Leclerc’s massive crash at Parabolica, Mercedes chose to serve that just a lap after the second restart dropping Hamilton to the back.
“My race wasn’t meant to be today but what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger,” he told Sky Sports.
“We didn’t do a great job with the pit stop. I didn’t see those boards and take responsibility for that and it’s something I’ll learn from.”
What followed in the final 25 laps though was just another example of why Hamilton is a six-time champion as he gained nine places and in fact only finish 17 seconds behind race winner Pierre Gasly and just two places behind teammate Valtteri Bottas.
“It was a long pit stop but once I finally caught everybody I enjoyed that bit of a battle,” he continued. “To get seventh and still get the fastest lap is still some good points so I’ll definitely take it.
“And grateful that Max [Verstappen] didn’t score any points, so not a huge loss today.”
Indeed, Hamilton remains 47 points clear at the top of the Drivers’ standings, easing the pain somewhat.
And during his interview, the Briton praised Gasly on his maiden F1 victory.
“I need to say a huge congratulations to Pierre because that’s a fantastic result for him,” he said.
“I’ve seen what he’s been through to see him dropped by the top team [Red Bull] now beat the top team.”
