Lewis Hamilton’s 2024 Italian GP took a turn for the worse during Q3 in Saturday’s qualifying. The seven-time world champion looked like a strong favorite to challenge for pole position. He had topped the FP2 and FP3 sessions and showed strong pace during both Q1 and Q2. However, it all came undone during the top-10 shootout.
The margins were very fine during qualifying at Monza. The top six were only separated by 0.186s in Q3. Hamilton was the slowest of the lot whilst his teammate pipped him to the second row of the grid with a time good enough to secure third place.
The #44 driver was visibly frustrated with himself after the session. He admitted that his final flying lap was a scruffy effort where he lost time into the first chicane and coming out of the Parabolica corner.
Sky Sports F1 quoted Hamilton as saying, “I am furious, absolutely furious. I could have been on pole, at least on the front row. I just didn’t do the job. Qualifying has been my weakness for a minute now and I can’t figure it out. The car felt better and the team deserve better. Maybe they will get that with Kimi [Antonelli].“
#ItalianGP | Lewis Hamilton post qualifying: “I’m furious. I could’ve been pole (…) I just couldn’t do the job at the end.”
“The team deserves better, maybe they’ll get that with Kimi.” pic.twitter.com/gm8I2XgE0r
— deni (@fiagirly) August 31, 2024
Hamilton came into the Italian GP this weekend, on the cusp of becoming a Ferrari driver. He already seemed to be feeling the love from the Tifosi as his pace was competitive throughout the weekend. Naturally, it could have been a special feeling for him if he got pole.
However, besides Hamilton’s rant about his mistakes, there are positives for Mercedes to take into the Grand Prix. The #44 driver was happy with the balance of the car. Moreover, the long runs during FP2 showed that the Silver Arrows are firmly in the mix for a good finish in the race.
