Lewis Hamilton will begin the Monaco Grand Prix from the seventh position on the grid. This follows a three-place grid penalty he was given for impeding Max Verstappen during the qualifying session.
Stewards determined that Hamilton obstructed Verstappen in Q1 at the Massenet corner. The incident was attributed to incorrect information provided to Hamilton by his Ferrari team engineer.
The seven-time world champion`s team initially told him that Verstappen, who was behind him in the first sector, was on a slow lap. Based on this, Hamilton began to accelerate back towards the racing line as the Red Bull car approached.
As a result of the penalty, Max Verstappen moves up to fourth place on the starting grid. Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso also advance by one position each.
The stewards acknowledged that the radio communications were “the cause of the impeding” but stated in their decision that these circumstances did not “amount to a mitigating factor” when imposing the penalty on Hamilton.
Driver Reactions
Before the penalty was confirmed, Hamilton spoke about the incident, explaining that he believed he was staying clear but was given conflicting information by his team regarding Verstappen`s pace. He added, “I was just about to get back on power. I accelerated for 10 metres. I was off the line but for sure distracting him.”
Max Verstappen seemed understanding of Hamilton`s situation when discussing the matter immediately after the session, acknowledging the team`s error. However, he maintained that a penalty should still be applied for the impedance.
“At the time, you see the car blocking you and when you are there at high speed, it`s not nice,” Verstappen commented. “I saw the team told him I was driving slow when I was clearly driving fast, so it`s not Lewis` fault… I quickly chatted to Lewis about it. It`s very simple but it can`t happen. But that`s the team`s mistake. If you look at the history of things, yes [it should be a penalty], but it`s more the team`s fault. But normally in qualifying they are quite strict on these things.”
Monaco GP Qualifying: Updated Top 10 Grid
1) Lando Norris, McLaren
2) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
3) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls
6) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
7) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
8) Esteban Ocon, Haas
9) Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
10) Alex Albon, Williams
The Stewards` Decision Explained
The stewards reviewed evidence including driver statements, team radio, telemetry, and video. They confirmed that Car 44 (Hamilton) was on a slow lap and off the racing line near Turn 2 while Car 1 (Verstappen) was on a push lap.
Hamilton`s team first informed him Verstappen was on a fast lap, but then sent a second message stating Car 1 was “slowing down,” which was incorrect as Verstappen was on a continuous push lap.
This inaccurate information caused Hamilton to speed up and move back towards the racing line entering Turn 3, forcing Verstappen to take evasive action and abandon his fast lap. Examination of previous laps confirmed that Hamilton indeed moved onto the line Verstappen was using.
Hamilton acknowledged the incorrect message from his team during the hearing and had already expressed frustration immediately after the incident.
The stewards concluded that, consistent with prior rulings on similar incidents where a driver is impeded due to inaccurate team communication, the fact that the radio message caused the issue does not serve as a mitigating circumstance. Therefore, the standard penalty of a three grid position drop was imposed.
Monaco Grand Prix Sunday Schedule
Sunday May 25
6.55am: F3 Feature Race
8.35am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Monaco GP build-up
2pm: The MONACO GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Monaco GP reaction
5pm: Ted`s Notebook
5.30pm: The Indy 500
Wesley Dunham 
Gilbert Pendleton