Hamilton Regrets Missed Opportunity for Fifth at Italian GP

Why it matters

Lewis Hamilton believes an earlier pit stop at the Italian Grand Prix could have secured him a fifth-place finish, expressing frustration over a missed undercut opportunity against George Russell.

The details

• Starting 10th due to a grid penalty from Zandvoort, Hamilton swiftly advanced to the top six early in the race.
• He found himself trailing former Mercedes teammate George Russell during the middle stint.
• Hamilton made his sole pit stop on lap 38, a full 10 laps after Russell.

What he said

"I had a really good start... I got kind of squeezed in between two cars. But other than that, I positioned the car really nicely." He added, "I made my way forward, I think I could have got fifth today. I was 1.5 seconds behind George, we should have tried to undercut. We missed that opportunity."

The bigger picture

Despite a recent rough patch, Hamilton was pleased with his strong opening stint but felt his team could have been more proactive with strategy to maximize his result on Ferrari's home soil.