Hamilton: Mercedes need to improve in races to come
Leclerc upstaged both drivers.
Lewis Hamilton believes Mercedes have improvements to make to the car for the rest of the season, after finishing in third place in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
In a thrilling race Charles Leclerc defended superbly from both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas for the entire race, including for the last 30 laps with hard tyres.
Hamilton tried everything to get through but after making a mistake going through the chicane with 11 laps remaining he handed the opportunity to team-mate Bottas, but he locked up on lap 51 giving Leclerc the breathing space to go on and win.
Hamilton admitted to Martin Brundle post-race that not everything went to plan across the weekend and that the team will be focusing on becoming more efficient in the races to come.
He said: "Today wasn't a perfect race, I think this weekend some improvements have to be made to my setup and obviously with myself, so we'll focus on that for the next race.
He did a great job, [he had] a lot of pressure from both Valtteri and I. I did the best I could, but following so closely for such a long time the tyres eventually went off a cliff.
"They were much quicker in a straight line so even if we did get close we couldn't pass. It wasn't our day but still strong for the team. We pull away from Ferrari in the constructors championship and ultimately that's what really matters."
Hamilton still retains a healthy lead over Bottas in the driver's championship.
Related
More F1 news
Latest F1 news
Recommended by the editors
F1 News & Gossip
Red Bull reunion? How Christian Horner and Helmut Marko could reconnect after ex-F1 star lands new role
Aston Martin F1
Aston Martin told Adrian Newey F1 move 'was never going to work'
Miami Grand Prix
Mercedes reveal new PURPLE livery ahead of Miami Grand Prix
GPFans Exclusive
EXCLUSIVE: Sebastian Vettel's shock school visit as staff reveal 'remarkable' behind the scenes moment
Races
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2026
-
Grand Prix of China 2026
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Bahrain 2026
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2026
-
Miami Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix du Canada 2026
-
Grand Prix De Monaco 2026
-
Gran Premio de Barcelona-Catalunya 2026
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2026
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2026
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2026
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2026
-
Dutch Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2026
-
Gran Premio de España 2026
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2026
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2026
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2026
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2026
-
Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2026
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2026
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2026
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Editorial & corporate information
Avenue HQ
10–12 East Parade
Leeds
LS1 2BH
United Kingdom Regional correspondence
View contact page