Lewis Hamilton is no stranger to the pressures of Formula 1, but his recent performance during the Italian Grand Prix qualifying session at Monza left him deeply frustrated. In a somewhat painful reflection, the 7-time world champion acknowledged his own shortcomings.
“I am furious, absolutely furious. I could have been on pole, at least on the front row. I just didn’t do the job,” Hamilton admitted, via the Sky Sports F1 broadcast.
Hamilton’s qualifying pace left him on the third row in P6 for tomorrow’s Italian race, lagging behind not only the McLarens, but also his teammate George Russell. Lando Norris took pole position, with Oscar Piastri and Russell following closely behind in second and third, respectively.
Charles Leclerc set the initial pace during the session, but his momentum couldn’t carry through to the end despite driving for his team’s home crowd. The session was also briefly disrupted by a yellow flag involving Kevin Magnussen. For Hamilton, costly mistakes marked his run.
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“I lost a tenth and a half into Turn 1, and then a tenth in the last corner. No one to blame but myself,” he added.
The frustration stemming from his qualifying struggles is not new for Hamilton. He voiced his continued troubles:
“Qualifying has been my weakness for a minute now and I can’t figure it out. I will keep trying.” He didn’t stop at merely identifying the flaws in his performance.
“I will be kicking myself for the next couple of hours but I need to move forward. We have a good race car, the team have done an amazing job,” Hamilton noted.
Despite his personal disappointment, Hamilton also gave a nod to his future replacement, Kimi Antonelli, who will take over his Mercedes seat next year as the Briton moves to Ferrari.
“The car felt better and the team deserve better. Maybe they will get that with Kimi [Antonelli],” he said.
Mercedes had shown substantial promise this weekend so far, topping FP3 and with Russell starting on the second row tomorrow. There’s clearly potential in the car, and the Temple of Speed will likely allow it to be utilized with long straights and an elongated DRS zone.
For Hamilton, each qualifying session and race presents an opportunity to push through the challenges.
“I just didn’t do the job.”
2024 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1. Lando Norris
2. Oscar Piastri
3. George Russell
4. Charles Leclerc
5. Carlos Sainz
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Max Verstappen
8. Sergio Perez
9. Alex Albon
10. Nico Hulkenberg
11. Fernando Alonso
12. Daniel Ricciardo
13. Kevin Magnussen
14. Pierre Gasly
15. Esteban Ocon
16. Yuki Tsunoda
17. Lance Stroll
18. Franco Colapinto
19. Valtteri Bottas
20. Zhou Guanyu
