Lewis Hamilton ‘really shocked’ after ‘pretty hardcore’ Dutch GP penalty

Henry Valantine 04 Sep 2025 4:10 PM

Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix press conference.

Lewis Hamilton will take a five-place grid penalty at Monza, in his first race there as a Ferrari driver.

Lewis Hamilton admitted being “really shocked” at seeing he has been dropped five places on the grid for his first time at Monza in Ferrari red.

Hamilton was found to have not slowed enough under yellow flag conditions on a reconnaissance lap to the grid at Zandvoort on Sunday, in an offence which also landed him with two penalty points on his FIA Super Licence.

Lewis Hamilton reacts to ‘pretty hardcore’ Dutch GP punishment

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

As a result of his penalty, the seven-time World Champion knows ahead of an important weekend that he will be on the back foot from the off, racing for the tifosi for the first time at Monza as a Ferrari driver with a five-place grid drop.

Hamilton arrived at the circuit having taken in an appearance in Milan on Wednesday night alongside Charles Leclerc, which he described as a “unique experience” as a Ferrari driver.

Looking more closely at on-track matters, however, the stewards were the topic of conversation in the pre-race press conference as Carlos Sainz discussed hoping to see his own penalty from Zandvoort overturned, after receiving a 10-second penalty following contact with Liam Lawson.

But for the Ferrari driver, he revealed he found out about his penalty after returning to his house, with the investigation into him having taken place after the race.

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He’s choosing to take a positive outlook, however, adding it “gives me more to fight for” this weekend.

“I don’t know how the other drivers have felt about the decisions of the last race, but I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty, and I was really, really shocked, to be honest. But it is what it is,” Hamilton told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets at Monza.

“It’s obviously not black and white. The fact is, if you look at the report, I did lift, but to their liking, not enough. That’s why I guess they’re saying not more.

“To get the penalty and get penalty points was pretty hardcore, but I learned from it, and there’s no point whinging about it. I’ll move forwards.

“It’s going to be challenging this weekend. Qualifying is already so close between us all, so just getting into Q3 is tough. Getting in the top five is very, very tough, and then on top of that, to then be set back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari.

“But you know, it gives me more to fight for, and now I’m very motivated to make up those places regardless.”