Hamilton surprised as Ferrari missed a ‘trick’ as rivals adapted in Monaco

Lewis Hamilton wonders whether Ferrari missed a “trick” in Monaco where Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren all made changes to their rear wings after the FIA banned Straight Line mode.

Although Hamilton was third in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, and took the chequered flag on Sunday in second place, the Ferrari driver never appeared to have enough pace to challenge Kimi Antonelli.

Hamilton wonders if Ferrari overlooked Monaco rear-wing solution

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PlanetF1.com reported ahead of the Monte Carlo street race that Mercedes and Red Bull arrived at the track with eye-catching rear wing designs, featuring extra winglets added to the activation pods.

The extra winglets are intended to increase downforce in response to the absence of active aero for Monaco, with the rear wings set to remain in a fixed position throughout this weekend.

However, when the FIA announced the list of upgrades for the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Mercedes and Red Bull weren’t alone in revising their rear wing.

McLaren, Racing Bulls, Haas, Audi and Cadillac all made changes to their rear wings to accommodate the lack of Straight Line mode.

Revealing that downforce was the one thing he was lacking throughout the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, Hamilton wonders if Ferrari missed a trick.

“All weekend, I think for us, apart from wanting more downforce globally,” Hamilton told PlanetF1.com and other media.

“I think when we arrived on Thursday we saw other people, those guys with trick additions to their wing, we didn’t have that, which was a little bit of a surprise.

“But our pace was looking good. In general, to go quicker, we needed more front end. We got to qualifying and had a lot of front end, and I had to take out like ten holes of front wing for some reason.

“So, once I took out the ten holes, the car was a little bit more reasonable by my last lap in Q3.

“But I needed that balance to start in Q1 and then build upon that, because it’s all about confidence. It was completely gone in Q1 and then I was trying to pull back what I could.”

Hamilton’s performance at the Monaco Grand Prix came on the back of his runner-up result in Canada, moving the seven-time world champion into second place in the Drivers’ standings.

While he does trail Antonelli by 66 points, Hamilton is showing his best form since joining Ferrari at the beginning of last season.

“I’m in a really good place with the car,” he said. “I’m in a really good place with the team, and you can see that I have decent pace still in me.

“There’s no lack of pace, which I’m really grateful for and happy about, regardless of all the negative comments people have made over the times. So, it’s good.

“Just keep on putting the work in and I’ll keep showing up and I’ll keep delivering.”

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And he’s set to deliver next season as well.

Although Ferrari only confirmed Charles Leclerc last week for the F1 2027 season, Hamilton is expected to remain with the team, taking up his option to continue.

Asked if the Leclerc announcement meant it was time to start speaking with Ferrari about his next deal, Hamilton told PlanetF1.com and other media in Monaco: “No, it doesn’t.

“It’s quite some time off. I have a lot of time.”

The Briton went on to say that continuing with Ferrari wasn’t so much a conversation but more something that just needed to be enacted.

“It’s not a thought, it’s not a conversation,” he added, “but it’s an engagement.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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