An untelevised apology from Lewis Hamilton to his Ferrari team-mate and fans has emerged after their disappointing performance in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The Prancing Horse stumbled in their home Grand Prix, missing out on podiums. Hamilton, 41, could only muster a sixth-placed finish while team-mate Charles Leclerc did not finish the race at all. Leclerc crashed on the third lap after coming through the Parabolica corner while under pressure from McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Heartbreak off camera
When Hamilton failed to get onto the podium, finishing behind Piastri, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, George Russell and eventual winner Kimi Antonelli, the Brit was heartbroken in footage which was not broadcast.
The clip begins with Hamilton's race engineer, Carlo Santi, saying: “Chequered flag. Mode charge. And we finish P6. Antonelli won the race, Russell P2, Verstappen P3, Norris four and Piastri five. And thank you, Lewis. Not the race that we wanted.”
Hamilton then said "no", to which Santi replied: "It was tough." The seven-time world champion then said: "Yeah, mate, that one hurts… that one definitely hurts.
"But thank you for continuing to show up, mate. And great job all weekend, guys, just in the garage as always, still delivering. Grazie a tutti. And the tifosi, thank you for turning out and giving us your love. Sorry we didn’t give you what you need."
First-lap battle and aftermath
Before Leclerc crashed, the two Ferrari drivers nearly collided on the track. On the first corner, Hamilton attempted to pass Leclerc on the inside, only to be forced into the gravel on the exit of the chicane.
The Brit began the race in fourth, but dropped all the way to 10th as a result of the battle. He was left playing catch-up from that moment on and was unable to make up the huge gap that had opened up between him and the top five.
After the race, Hamilton lashed out at his team-mate and the team as a whole. After finishing nearly 25 seconds behind eventual winner Antonelli, Hamilton said: "I think it comes down to rules of engagement. When I was at Mercedes, we had written rules of engagement.
"We never really, really had it too bad. There was a moment between me and Nico [Rosberg] a couple of times, but more often not, it was good. Here, there are no rules. We need to address that."
