Mercedes Mishap Inflicts “Pain” On Lewis Hamilton’s Person

Day one of the Italian GP weekend was no walk in the park for Lewis Hamilton. Performance-wise, he did well in the two practice sessions, finishing P1 in the second. However, he was far from comfortable in the W15, owing to the extremely hot temperatures inside the cockpit. This was aggravated by a faulty leak in the car.

Temperatures were as high as 93.2 F in Monza on Friday afternoon, and with the sun shining bright, the Mercedes car became a mini-sauna for Hamilton. “It was very hot,” Hamilton said in an interview after the session. “Like sitting on the sauna with no shorts on, so pain, yeah!”

Things would have not been as bad for Hamilton had Mercedes not created a mishap. There was a radiator leak in the cockpit of his car because of which extra air was running through. “It was ridiculously roasting,” Hamilton added.

Hamilton, who finished FP2 in first, 0.003 seconds ahead of Lando Norris in second place, had been feeling hot throughout his time in Monza. Even off the track, a Mercedes-related problem rose. However, he took it upon himself to fix it.

Hamilton’s issue with Mercedes’ uniform

Coming from a damp weekend in Zandvoort, Hamilton was greeted with scorching heat in Monza. Mercedes was not prepared, and carried over their team uniforms from the Netherlands, where because of cold weather, they used long-sleeved t-shirts.

Hamilton, however, decided to make his sleeves short. A fan noticed threads coming out of Hamilton’s t-shirt on Thursday, and put up a picture on X (formerly Twitter) to express their surprise.

Hamilton replied, confirming that he had cut his sleeves, as he claimed it was too hot in Monza.

One of the fastest tracks on the calendar, if the weather in Monza doesn’t improve on Sunday, drivers could face a tough time driving at full-speed around the circuit for 53 laps.