Hamilton Points Out Mistake That Might Have Cost McLaren Victory In Italy

Monday, 02 September 2024 at 22:00

Lewis Hamilton discussed after the 2024 Italian Grand Prix one critical mistake that both McLaren drivers made, which might have cost them the victory.

Going into Sunday's 2024 Italian Grand Prix race, it was a bit of a mystery which team would be the strongest, but McLaren was definitely in the best position to score big, with their two drivers starting from P1 and P2.

What certainly didn't help McLaren was that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri didn't exactly help each other out, which allowed Charles Leclerc to get between the two of them already on the opening lap.

However, that wasn't the critical mistake that Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton noticed. He suggested it was clear to him from the first lap that McLaren's pace wasn't sustainable when it came to a one-stop strategy.

“"McLaren had the pace but pushed too hard. They were doing much too fast laps, early on. They killed their tires."”

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With Monza Circuit being newly resurfaced for this year's edition of the Italian Grand Prix, it wasn't clear how the tires would behave, and nobody knew if a one-stop strategy would actually be an option.

As it turned out, Charles Leclerc, who won the race, made it possible, and the seven-time World Champion was convinced that McLaren F1 drivers could have done the same.

“"I guess they planned for a two-stop, that's why they were pushing so hard. If they backed off longer they could've made a one-stop."”

“"I was getting the information about the times they were doing. There is no way the tires would last, at that pace. Charles did a fantastic job, well done to him."”

Interestingly, Lando Norris suggested after the race on Sunday that a one-stop would never be possible for McLaren despite their supreme tire management car characteristics.