In Monaco, Lewis Hamilton emerges from the tunnel.
Lewis Hamilton has refuted suggestions he wasn’t happy with Mercedes’ tyre call at the start of the Monaco Grand Prix, saying his “I told you” message was simply that there’d be an incident on the opening lap.
Lewis Hamilton lined up seventh on the grid at the Monte Carlo street circuit, was seventh as the red flag came out for Sergio Perez’s horror crash, seventh at the restart and seventh at the end of the 78-lap Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton ‘wanted’ to start on the hard Pirellis
Additional reporting by Sam Cooper
However, lap 1 of the race was far from uneventful, unlike the rest of the race from lap 3 at the restart to lap 78 at the finish.
When Kevin Magnussen clipped Perez, it caused significant damage, leading to the deployment of red flags as Perez’s car was forcefully sent nose-first into the Armco barrier, resulting in noticeable dents on the barrier.
Perez’s Red Bull eventually stopped, having endured significant damage to its four corners, but fortunately, he remained unharmed.
In addition to Magnussen and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon’s race-ending move on Pierre Gasly further up the field.
As Hamilton made his way back to the pit lane under a red flag, he directed a statement of “I told you guys” towards his Mercedes race engineer Peter Bonnington.
This implied that each of the remaining drivers would receive a complimentary tire replacement, while Hamilton complied with the mandatory tire change by exchanging his hard Pirellis for a set of mediums.
This raised speculation that the Briton might not be pleased with starting on the hard tyres, considering he potentially had to cover 75 laps on the mediums.
In his post-race media briefing, Hamilton dismissed that notion by revealing his preference to begin the race on the hard tires.
“He informed the media, including PlanetF1.com, that regardless of the tire choice, he anticipated a lengthy race. However, he expressed his preference to begin with the harder tire.”
At the start of the race, I had a strong intuition that something significant was about to unfold. Typically, such situations would provide a chance to switch to the more durable tires and maintain a strong position until the race concludes.
However, I believe that ultimately, everyone drove at such a slow pace that all the tires managed to reach the end, so it didn’t really matter.
Key takeaways from the Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco GP data: Mercedes ‘survival’ strategy conditioned by Alonso’s traffic denies fight for the win
Monaco Grand Prix conclusions: Charles Leclerc breakthrough, Kevin Magnussen ban and more
Toto Wolff, the boss of his team, also expressed his opinion on the decision to begin the race with hard tyres. However, the unfortunate crash resulted in a free pit stop for all drivers, which effectively nullified what could have been the most significant, if not the only, strategic move in Monaco.
Wolff expressed regret, stating that as soon as the crash occurred, it became evident that we were at a significant disadvantage. In essence, he believed that there is not much room for improvement in Monaco, as one essentially finishes where they begin.
Hamilton achieved exactly that, maintaining his position from P7 to P7, while George Russell commenced the race in fifth place and concluded it in fifth place.
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