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Lewis Hamilton Left Hanging by Ferrari in Puzzling Monaco Radio Exchange

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Samriddhi Jaiswal | Last updated May 25, 2025 2:11 PM ET

Lewis Hamilton was left confused and audibly frustrated during the Monaco Grand Prix after receiving a vague radio message from his Ferrari race engineer that offered little clarity during a crucial phase of the race.

Told simply to “push now; this is our race,” Hamilton later admitted he had no idea what the instruction meant or what position he was actually fighting for.

He explained that information “wasn’t exactly that clear,” and said he “didn’t understand ‘this is our race,’” because he had no sense of whether he was gaining on the cars ahead.

With no feedback coming from his engineer, Hamilton pushed on — only to later discover that he wasn’t close to anyone in front and had burned through his tyres unnecessarily. “I used up my tyres a lot at that moment, but I was so far away from them,” he said, pointing to a strategic misstep driven by miscommunication.

The tension was evident over team radio. In one moment, Hamilton asked: “You’re not answering the question. It doesn't really matter I guess, I’m just asking if I’m a minute behind or?” In another radio message after the completion of the race, Hamilton asked his race engineer: “Are you upset with me or something?” The second message went unanswered — a silence that raised eyebrows through the paddock.

After the race, Hamilton described his Monaco afternoon as “the middle of nowhere.” He said he started seventh, got stuck behind two cars early, eventually cleared them, and then was left circulating alone with no real shot at advancing unless a Safety Car came out — which it never did. “The gap was relatively big and I was not racing anyone,” he noted.

#MonacoGP | Lewis Hamilton comments on his race engineer’s message “push now; this is our race.”

“The information wasn’t exactly that clear. I didn’t understand “this is our race.””

“I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Am I fighting for the next spot ahead, or? But in… pic.twitter.com/kTwxKPz5S1
— deni (@fiagirly) May 25, 2025

Reflecting on the vague call from Ferrari, Hamilton said: “I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Was I fighting for the next spot ahead? I wasn’t anywhere near the guys in front.”

For a driver of Hamilton’s caliber and in a team transition year where clarity is crucial, Ferrari’s silence at Monaco felt louder than words.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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