Ferrari left Zandvoort with both cars retired and another setback on the horizon for Lewis Hamilton, who heads into Monza facing a grid penalty at the Italian Grand Prix.
This weekend marks the end of Formula 1’s European schedule for the 2025 season, as Monza hosts its 76th and final Italian Grand Prix before the calendar shifts to the flyaways. For Lewis Hamilton, it will also be his first appearance at Monza as a Ferrari driver, having already claimed five victories there in his career.
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But Hamilton heads to Monza after failing to finish a race for the first time since joining Ferrari. His Dutch GP ended on Lap 23 after he lost control over one of the damp painted areas outside Hugenholtzbocht and crashed out.
Charles Leclerc also didn’t finish at Zandvoort. The defending Italian GP winner was hit by Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli when Antonelli misjudged an overtaking move early in the race.
Lewis Hamilton’s five-place grid penalty
Hamilton is already facing another setback at Monza, with a five-place grid penalty hanging over him. The seven-time world champion was penalised for failing to slow down under double-waved yellow flags before the Dutch Grand Prix, and former driver Jolyon Palmer doesn’t think there’s much of a case to defend him.
The investigation only took place after the race, with stewards handing out the penalty because Hamilton was practicing pit entry attacks while personnel were still on track.
“The drivers were warned about this,” Palmer said in his F1 TV analysis. “You’ve got a yellow flag on the outside and then you’ve got even more critically a flashing panel coming through the final corner. You pretty much can’t miss that as you’re coming in, but Lewis stays pinned.”
“The drivers want to get a gauge for how quickly they can attack the pit speed limit line, but it’s just dangerous to do on this circuit. It’s narrow, and you’ve got all of the people coming onto the grid. These people are just metres away from Hamilton, who’s flying in.
“This is not behaviour that you should have under double-waved yellows. So, Hamilton really without a leg to stand on at that point.”
Stewards’ delay adds to Hamilton’s frustration over Monza penalty
Palmer also pointed out that the timing of the stewards’ decision only made things worse for Hamilton. Instead of serving his penalty during the Dutch GP, he now has to take it at Monza, and Palmer said that was a much harder blow.
The stewards had initially decided to review Hamilton’s incident after the race, even though it happened before lights out. This delay means he’ll start further back at a track where grid position is crucial, something that wasn’t lost on Palmer.
“Lewis quite clearly blasting past those yellow flags, and that is going to be an infringement on safety grounds,” he added.
“The unfortunate thing really for him is that he didn’t get that penalty during the race. Had he got that, it would have been a severe penalty [and] it would have cost him the Dutch Grand Prix. But, of course for Hamilton, he ended up crashing out anyway.
“Having a grid penalty in a Ferrari at Monza is just going to be that much more painful. So, the stewards waiting ‘til after the race to look at that has ended up being even more painful for Lewis Hamilton.”
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