Lewis Hamilton will start the Monaco Grand Prix from seventh position following the imposition of a three-place grid penalty. This penalty was issued because he was found to have impeded Max Verstappen during the qualifying session.
Stewards determined that Hamilton obstructed Verstappen in Q1 at Massenet. The incident occurred after Hamilton received inaccurate information from his Ferrari race engineer.
The seven-time world champion was mistakenly told that Verstappen, who was behind him in the first sector, was on a slow lap. Based on this information, Hamilton began to accelerate back towards the racing line just as the Red Bull car approached, causing the impediment.
As a consequence of this decision, Max Verstappen is promoted to fourth place on the grid. Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso also move up one position each.
The stewards acknowledged that the radio communication error was “the cause of the impeding” but clarified when announcing Hamilton`s penalty that these circumstances did not “amount to a mitigating factor.”
Before the penalty was confirmed, Hamilton discussed the incident: “I thought I was doing well staying out of everyone`s way, but then the team said Max was on a fast lap, so I moved left. Then they immediately said `no, he`s not on a fast lap.` I was just starting to apply power again. I accelerated for about 10 metres. I was off the main line, but it definitely must have been distracting for him.”
Max Verstappen, although appearing sympathetic towards Hamilton when they spoke after the session, maintained that a penalty should be applied. He stated: “In the moment, seeing a car blocking you at high speed isn`t pleasant… I saw that his team told him I was driving slowly when I was clearly going fast, so it`s not really Lewis`s fault. I had a quick chat with Lewis about it. It`s straightforward, but it shouldn`t happen. It`s the team`s mistake. Looking at previous cases, yes, it should be a penalty, but it`s more the team`s responsibility. Usually, they are quite strict on these things in qualifying.”
Monaco GP Qualifying: Updated Top 10 Grid
1) Lando Norris, McLaren
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
6) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
7) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
8) Esteban Ocon, Haas
9) Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
10) Alex Albon, Williams
The Stewards` Decision in Full
The stewards reviewed evidence including driver statements, team radio, telemetry, and video. Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton) was on a slow lap and off the racing line near Turn 2. Car 1 (Max Verstappen) was approaching on a push lap.
Hamilton`s team initially informed him that Verstappen was on a fast lap. Subsequently, they sent a message saying Car 1 was `slowing down`, which was incorrect as Verstappen remained on a push lap.
This led to Car 44 speeding up and moving towards the racing line as Car 1 entered Turn 3. Car 1 had to react to Car 44`s movement, forcing Verstappen off his usual racing line and causing him to abandon his push lap.
Comparing Car 1`s line on previous laps confirmed that Car 44 did enter the path used by Verstappen on push laps, leaving no doubt that Car 1 was impeded.
During the hearing, Hamilton accepted that the incorrect team message caused the incident. The stewards ruled that, as with similar past cases where impeding occurred due to inaccurate or incomplete team information, the radio message being the cause does not serve as a mitigating factor. Therefore, the standard three-grid position penalty was imposed.
