Lewis Hamilton promised he will use the ‘hardcore’ punishment that has rocked his Italian Grand Prix debut for Ferrari to turn the weekend into an unlikely success.
The seven-time world champion was speaking after receiving a hero’s reception at a pre-race event in Milan, some 15 miles from Monza.
But his chances of climbing the podium on Sunday were already curtailed by a five-place grid drop imposed after last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
The stewards punished him for failing to slow adequately for yellow flags on the way to the start in Zandvoort. The penalty was announced four hours after the race, by which time Hamilton was back in Monaco.
‘My transgression is obviously not black and white,’ he said. ‘If you look at the report, I did lift, but not enough to their liking
‘To get the penalty and (two) penalty points on my licence was pretty hardcore. But I learned from it and there’s no point whinging about it.
Lewis Hamilton has described his Italian Grand Prix punishment as ‘hardcore’ ahead of this weekend
Hamilton, in Monza, admitted the weekend will be ‘challenging’ and has a five-place penalty
‘It’s going to be challenging this weekend. Qualifying has been so close between us all that just getting to Q3 is tough. Getting in the top five is very, very tough.
‘And then on top of that, to be sent back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari, but it gives me more to fight for. I’m very motivated to make up those places.’
Hamilton has suffered a turbulent first 15 races at Ferrari. He won the sprint in China in April but has not notched a single grand-prix podium, and he crashed in the Netherlands.
‘It’s been an emotional roller coaster,’ admitted the Briton. ‘Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that’s life.
‘And I’d like to think that even though we had a difficult Sunday (in Zandvoort), we are coming towards the brighter end of the tunnel. I read something recently where it said: “There’s no point stressing about tomorrow because it often puts shade on the present”.
‘So I’m really trying not to worry about tomorrow.
‘I don’t want to miss any of these special moments. Like my first Monza in red. It’s going to be incredibly special leaving the garage.
‘I want to give the tifosi absolutely everything because the passion and the support they’ve given me and this team is like nothing I’ve ever seen.’
