Lewis Hamilton Laments ‘Miserable’ Monaco GP As Communication Woes Persist

Lewis Hamilton expressed his disappointment following a “miserable” Monaco Grand Prix, where he finished fifth after starting seventh due to a three-place grid penalty. The British driver found himself in a lonely race, comfortably ahead of Isack Hadjar but unable to challenge the top four, ultimately crossing the line almost a minute behind race winner Lando Norris.

Speaking about his performance, Hamilton said, “I think from where I was, a three-place grid penalty, moving forwards back to fifth I think was decent, the best I could do.” However, when asked if he enjoyed the race, the seven-time world champion replied, “No, it was miserable. The races here are generally, unless you’re first and in the lead; even when you’re in the lead, it’s not that fun. Just a nice reward at the end but other than that, anything but first is kind of empty.”

In an interview with Sky Sports, Hamilton struggled to explain the significant gap to the front-runners, simply stating, “It just happens. For me, I was kind of in the middle of nowhere. Obviously I started with the penalty I had down in seventh, was obviously behind two cars for some time and then managed to clear them, and then I was kind of just in no-man’s-land after that. I think the gap was relatively big, and I wasn’t racing anyone. I needed the safety car or something to come into play, but it didn’t happen, so it was just pretty straightforward from there.”

Hamilton also expressed confusion over Ferrari’s communication during the race, a recurring issue throughout the season. At one point, he was told to “push now … this is our race,” which left him puzzled. “The information wasn’t exactly that clear; I didn’t understand the ‘this is our race’ [comment],” Hamilton explained. “I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Was I fighting for the next spot ahead or … ? But in actual fact, when I look at the data, I wasn’t anywhere near the other guys up front, so I used my tires a lot in that moment, but I was so far away from them.”

A post-race clip circulating on social media showed Hamilton asking, “Are you upset with me or something?” amid silence from his team. However, team boss Fred Vasseur clarified that the lack of response was due to Hamilton’s position on the track, rather than any intentional refusal to communicate.