Lewis Hamilton described his fifth-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix as being in “no man`s land,” highlighting a frustrating race experience.
The Mercedes driver finished fifth, climbing two positions from his seventh-place starting spot. He had qualified fourth, his best of the season, but received a penalty for impeding Max Verstappen.
The race at Monaco was notable for featuring two mandatory pit stops. Despite gaining places, Hamilton finished significantly behind the front-runners. He was 51 seconds adrift of winner Lando Norris and 30 seconds behind Max Verstappen, who finished fourth. However, he comfortably held off Isack Hadjar, who was 16 seconds behind in sixth.
Recounting his race, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1, “For me I was in the middle of nowhere. I started seventh, was behind two cars for some time, managed to clear them, then I was in no man`s land after that.” He added that the large gaps meant he wasn`t racing anyone directly, needing a Safety Car intervention that didn`t occur.
Confusion arose during the race when his race engineer, Ricciardo Adami, instructed him on lap 17 to “push now, this is our race.” This message came despite Hamilton being isolated behind the leading pack, having spent his initial stint behind Fernando Alonso and Isack Hadjar.
Hamilton admitted he didn`t understand the instruction: “The information wasn`t exactly that clear. I didn`t really understand `this is our race`. I didn`t know what I was fighting for… I wasn`t anywhere near any of the guys up front. I used up my tyres a lot in that moment but I was so far away from them anyway.”
Further radio communication after the chequered flag added to the conversation, with Hamilton asking Adami, “Are you upset with me or something?” after being informed he had “lost a lot of time in traffic.”
Mercedes Team Principal Frederic Vasseur addressed these radio exchanges, stating post-race that Hamilton was “not upset at all.” Vasseur explained that communication in Monaco is restricted to certain sections of the track due to the layout, meaning engineers must wait for specific points to speak to the driver. He dismissed any suggestion of tension, emphasizing that drivers under pressure in the car will ask questions.
