Hamilton breaks silence on Q3 decision that left Leclerc without tow at Monza
Lewis Hamilton explained after qualifying why he didn’t give his teammate Charles Leclerc a tow on his final Q3 run at Monza.
Given the five-place grid penalty Lewis Hamilton received at Zandvoort for not slowing sufficiently under double yellow flags before the start of the GP, many expected Ferrari to use the Brit as a tow for Charles Leclerc, helping him fight for a front-row spot.
However, that scenario didn’t materialize, with both drivers opting to run alone, ultimately failing to improve on their first Q3 attempts.
As a result, Leclerc will start from fourth position, while Hamilton, after serving his penalty, will line up tenth on the grid.
Hamilton was, of course, asked why he didn’t give a tow to his teammate, given what was at stake and the fact that he would have started further back anyway.
Why Hamilton didn't give tow to Leclerc?
Speaking to GPblog at the end of qualifying, the seven-time world champion said: ''It's not something I ever did in any of my other teams.''
''Ultimately, potentially, you end up sacrificing one of the drivers. And I've already got a five place penalty, so points wise I needed to be as high as I could.''
Despite the penalty, Hamilton expressed confidence in being able to mount a strong comeback during the race, aware that a very low-downforce setup could help facilitate overtaking: ''Obviously with the penalty and everyone being so close it's going to be tough to overtake everybody ahead of me.''
''We've got good top-line speed so I'm really hoping that I can try to make up some ground. I'll need to do a good start, a good first lap, a good strategy.''
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