Lewis Hamilton Penalized at Monza: Can He Recover After Dutch GP Mistake?

The penalty has Lewis Hamilton facing a five-place grid drop from wherever he qualifies in Monza. He also received 2 penalty points on his FIA Super Licence. 

A third penalty point in the next 12 months will result in a ban for one race. So it’s safe to say that now real pressure has been added to the Ferrari driver.

Lewis Hamilton’s Monza Setback After a Tough Dutch GP

Monza, nicknamed “The Temple of Speed,” is one of Ferrari’s major races, and being further back will not help Hamilton in a fast race in an area of the world where straight-line speed and clean air greatly matter.

At Monza, where everything is about speed, it matters more than most other places where you start on the grid. Most winners and podium finishers have come from the front row (4mula1stats). When you pull off a great qualifying performance at Monza, you get to control the race and avoid the madness going on in the midfield.

While the long straights of the track give overtaking opportunities, Monza's ultra-low-downforce, and the nature of the track make overtaking difficult. Speed is only yan advantage if you time it perfectly with the driver ahead, formulate a smart plan.

The 7-time World Champion will be hoping for a clever enough strategy to recover places but must not take any unnecessary risks early on which could impact his tires or lead him into traffic. 

This bad news follows a tough Dutch GP in which Hamilton crashed out on lap 23 in very difficult conditions. 

His Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc also had to retire after a contact with Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), so both drivers will want to recover in Italy.

For the Monza weekend, the 30-year-old driver will need the right combination of focus and team strategy to recover lost places and give the squadra all their best performance in front of their home crowd.