Lewis Hamilton has opened up about how his race unfolded, what his recent performance signifies, the areas where Ferrari are still lagging behind, the factors that have enabled him to take a step forward in the 2026 F1 season, and his opinion of Kimi Antonelli’s campaign so far following his second-place finish at the Monaco GP.
After setting a lap time good enough for third in qualifying, Hamilton started Sunday’s race on a set of fresh medium tyres. With Max Verstappen failing to get off the line and eventually retiring at the end of his first lap, he found himself in second position behind Antonelli.
However, Hamilton had no answer to the blistering pace of the Mercedes driver. He boxed at the end of Lap 28 and switched to the hardest tyre compound. Unfortunately, the Brit received a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
As Lance Stroll crashed into the wall at Antony Noghes on Lap 60 and triggered the Safety Car, Hamilton dived into the pits once more. With Ferrari opting to double-stack, he managed to serve his penalty and still rejoin the track ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who was charging hard and had closed to just three seconds behind prior to the SC intervention.
Given that Leclerc slid into the barriers at the restart due to brake failure and the FIA red-flagged the race for an inspection of the track break-up, Hamilton had one more opportunity to snatch the lead from Antonelli once the field prepared for a standing start.
The 19-year-old nailed his getaway once again, and Hamilton ultimately crossed the line in P2. With George Russell failing to score any points, he has also moved up to second place in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship standings.
Hamilton happy but concedes Ferrari still have a lot to do to catch up
In the post-race track interview conducted by David Coulthard, Lewis Hamilton reflected on his journey to his eighth F1 podium finish in Monte Carlo. Commending Antonelli for his dominant performance and Mercedes for delivering a great car, he admitted that Ferrari still have a lot of ground to cover before they can challenge the Brackley-based outfit on a regular basis.
Nonetheless, Hamilton stated that it was satisfying to secure a P2 finish at the chaotic 2026 Monaco GP that saw seven retirements.
“Yeah, well, I mean, I have to start by congratulating Kimi [Antonelli] and to the Mercedes team, my whole family. They’ve done it again. They’ve created an amazing car and Kimi’s doing an incredible job, just delivering weekend in, weekend out. So, it’s great to see and I’m really happy for them.
“On our side, I think we’ve been progressing over the past months and can’t quite keep up with them just yet. And it’s probably going to take a lot of work for us to get to their level.
“But to get another second place is such a great feeling, especially in Monaco, under the trickiest conditions. It was the hardest conditions out there and we’ve had such a great turnout today as well. So, I’ll definitely take it.”
Hamilton on the difficult conditions and his tyre degradation at the 2026 Monaco GP
In terms of the tricky conditions he had encountered during Sunday’s Monaco GP, Lewis Hamilton noted that the SF-26 lacked optimum downforce. Additionally, he explained how relatively high tyre degradation in his first stint had prompted him to pit earlier than desired and compromised his second stint.
The Brit also emphasised how the Safety Car intervention had dropped the tyres out of their optimal working window and made it quite difficult to keep the cars on the track.
In the end, Hamilton thanked the entire team for delivering a car that was able to score podiums in back-to-back races and added that his next target is to secure a Grand Prix victory in red.
“I think for me, it’s really the car. The car is good, but we need more downforce ultimately.
“And I think just with the tyres, with the different scenarios we had out there, I ran out of tyres quite early in the first stint and then I was on that long second stint. These tyres aren’t particularly great just over a long stint, so holding on to that was going to be tough.
“Then once we had to slow down on the Safety Car, you lose all temperature and you saw with other drivers out there that it was really hard to stay on track. So, I think just with all the different things that have been thrown at us, it was massively challenging.
“But really, really grateful for the day; happy, grateful to the team. Grazie to everyone back at the factory and all the guys here who worked so hard to get this result. They truly deserve this and more, and I’ve just got to keep working harder to try and see if I can finally take that next step for them too.”
Hamilton grateful for P2 after lining up in third
Speaking in the post-race press conference, Lewis Hamilton commented on how it’s a massive privilege to still be on the cutthroat F1 grid at the age of 41 and drive for the historic Italian team.
Furthermore, Hamilton reiterated how grateful he was to maximise his Sunday and bag 18 crucial points at the 2026 Monaco GP after starting third.
“It feels amazing to be up here and such a privilege to still be here, to be driving for Ferrari, to still be one of the 22 drivers in this sport and in front of all these people. It’s such an incredible experience and something that I genuinely love.
“So, I’m grateful to have moved forwards because we started third, and to get to second is awesome.”
Hamilton hits back at his critics
Lewis Hamilton also addressed the criticism he had faced last year and maintained that securing consecutive P2 finishes in Montreal and Monte Carlo demonstrates what he can still bring to the table.
Underlining how his fans had encouraged him to not lose sight of the fact that he is statistically the most successful F1 driver of all time, the 105-time race winner took pride in the big step forward he has taken in 2026 after an underwhelming 2025 campaign.
Following his trip to the podium at the 2026 Monaco GP, Hamilton also touched on how rejuvenated the team is right now and claimed that his performance so far in the ongoing season has justified Ferrari’s decision to sign him.
“To have two seconds, especially I think with a good race in Montreal and everyone was kind of like, ‘Yeah, but he’s quick there’.
“I feel like I’m in a period where I’m having to remind people of who I am, and I think my fans last year were telling me to remind me of who I am, and now I’m having to show up each weekend and try to do that.
“I think it’s great to see that it’s like a rejuvenated love in the team, and I think their belief also in me and the decision in hiring me and everything. So, I’m very happy.”
Handling the restart and the positives Hamilton took away from the final stages of the 2026 Monaco GP
With regard to what his thoughts were ahead of the race restart at the 2026 F1 Monaco GP, Lewis Hamilton responded that he was really keen to get the jump on Antonelli and secure the victory.
Drawing attention to how they both had similar starts, the seven-time world champion lamented how quickly the Italian driver was able to pull away from him. Nonetheless, he stated that the knowledge he had gathered would allow him to steer the team in the right direction so far as future development trajectory is concerned.
“I was thinking about winning. I was thinking about getting him at the beginning.
“No, that was an opportunity, but unfortunately, we both basically got pretty much the same starts. I think I gained on him just a little bit and I was almost to his rear wheel, but not enough to pop me in the lead, unfortunately.
“And then as we got going, I just got to see him pull away. The performance they have is next level.
“It was a good experience because it gives me a much better idea of where I need to have the team lean and improve, not only from what I’m feeling but what I’m seeing as well. And yeah, there’s lots of things that we need to be adding to this car.”
What Ferrari still need to improve
Asked to shed more light on what Ferrari still need to work on to go toe-to-toe with Mercedes after they had failed to challenge Antonelli in any capacity at the 2026 Monaco GP, Lewis Hamilton described how the SF-26 lacks downforce and also carries an engine deficit to the W17.
At the same time, the Stevenage native offered assurance that the Maranello-based squad have some upgrades in the pipeline that would hopefully enable them to make some substantial performance gains.
“Just general performance. Downforce-wise, clearly they’re above us. Obviously on power, here the power is not such an issue. It’s just downforce. You could see just on traction those guys were night and day different to us.
“But hopefully we’ve got some performance coming, and I know the guys are working really hard back at the factory. So, I hope that they’re happy with this result.”
What helped Hamilton to bounce back after a disappointing 2025 season
In reference to his consecutive second-place podiums and whether his first Grand Prix victory in red is closer than ever, Lewis Hamilton agreed with the observation but also pointed out the massive gap to championship leader Antonelli after the frenetic F1 Monaco GP on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the 41-year-old was rather effusive about Ferrari’s strong reliability thus far and Fred Vasseur’s support as he now finds himself second in the 2026 Drivers’ Championship standings.
Ascribing his recent success to the modifications the Ferrari Team Principal brought at his insistence after a difficult 2025 campaign, Hamilton remarked how he prefers to chase and added that they would continue to push forward to reach the top spot.
“I mean, it couldn’t be closer, but it’s still 66 points.
“I can’t believe that I’m second in the championship and I’m really happy and thankful for that; I couldn’t have done that without this team, without the reliability that we have, and also with Fred [Vasseur].
“Fred has been awesome in supporting me. I think last year was really tough for both of us and [I’ve been] begging him for certain changes, and he pulled through and he did those, and now I’m seeing the fruits of that and I’m able to finally deliver for them.
“I think it’s still very early days in the season, so we just have to keep chasing. It’s actually easier to chase than it is to defend, I would say, in life. And so, whilst these guys are very quick and they’re an amazing team, we’re going to keep pushing, keep chasing, and I have no doubt at some stage we’re going to get there.”
Hamilton weighs in on how good Antonelli is
In terms of the shoes Antonelli has had to fill at Mercedes after his departure and how good he already is, Lewis Hamilton reiterated how fantastic the 19-year-old is to claim five wins in a row and lead the championship with a comfortable margin. However, he also called attention to the solid team that brings the best out of the Mercedes driver.
Proclaiming that sharing the 2026 Monaco GP podium with two talented youngsters like Antonelli and Isack Hadjar had brought back fond memories from his rookie F1 season, Hamilton also admitted that the moment served as a source of motivation and that he would concentrate his efforts on staging a comeback and winning the title.
“I mean, it’s all good, I think, for any of us competitors to talk about each other, isn’t it? I don’t know how much more I can say that I haven’t already said in the past.
“He’s [Antonelli] doing a phenomenal job. He’s got an amazing team around him with Bono [Peter Bonnington], with Toto [Wolff] and the whole team. And I’m really happy to see them doing what they do best.
“And then for him in this moment to be delivering on the level that he’s delivering at, it’s awesome to see. It just encourages me to want to level up and I think encourages everybody wanting to level up. And he’s only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him.
“But I’m going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year. And as I said, just really, it’s a real privilege to witness it, be on the podium with two of the youngest guys here. Very much kind of remind me of me when I was back in 2007.”
Hamilton’s assessment of the penalty for speeding in the pit lane at the 2026 Monaco GP
With respect to the stewards penalising multiple drivers during the 2026 Monaco GP for speeding in the pit lane and whether the time penalty was unfair, Lewis Hamilton claimed that he hadn’t exceeded the speed limit.
Elaborating that he took the same line he has always taken, the 105-time race winner insisted that the FIA look into the matter since the unintended infractions and the subsequent penalties had compromised several drivers’ races on a short track like the Circuit de Monaco. At the same time, he expressed relief that the five-second time penalty hadn’t put him at a serious disadvantage.
“Yeah, I wasn’t speeding. I think it’s just the way the pit lane is.
“I’ve done this pit lane for years. It’s not like I came in and didn’t press the button or something like that. Pit lane limiter is on immediately. And I think it’s just the line that you take, which is the same line we’ve all taken for years, where you come in, you kind of cut part of the white line. Head down, went out.
“And I was shocked to hear that I was speeding because I wasn’t actually above the speed.
“It’s all about, I think, the distance and something that we really need to look into because I heard lots of people got that today and they probably weren’t really speeding. And having to do a stop-and-go, sort of stop and wait for five, 10 seconds, whatever people got, it destroys you on a track so short as well, your chances.
“So, I’m thankful that it didn’t impede me too much.”
Hamilton reacts to matching Senna’s podium tally in Monte Carlo
Although he now equals Ayton Senna’s record of eight podiums at the Monaco GP, Lewis Hamilton has secured only three victories around the Principality in comparison to the Brazilian’s six.
Asked if he can still match Senna’s win record, Hamilton conceded that he has yet to make the same impact on the city streets of Monte Carlo that the “King of Monaco” had managed to over the course of his 10 race starts on this fabled track.
Reaffirming his admiration for the three-time world champion, the Ferrari driver, nonetheless, stated that he would try and secure three more wins in Monaco in the coming years.
“I’ve been here a long time and still haven’t got to his level on that, but I’m going to be here for a while, so I’ll keep chasing it.
“And just to be in his presence, in the sense of the eight podiums, for example, is very cool.
“I still remember being young and watching Ayrton, and still today he’s my favourite driver. So, it’s really cool.”
