MONZA, Italy: As if a first Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari isn’t incentive enough this weekend, Lewis Hamilton says he has extra motivation for his first time in red at the iconic Monza track.
A disastrous Dutch Grand Prix last weekend for both Hamilton and Ferrari culminated in the seven-time world champion being handed a five-place grid penalty — to be served at Monza — for failing to slow down enough while driving to the grid before the race.
“I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty and I was really, really shocked,” Hamilton said Thursday.
“To get the penalty and get (license) penalty points was pretty hard core, but I’m over it, there’s no point moaning about it, I’ve just got to move forward.”
However, that has only served to spur him on even more as Hamilton prepares to race at the Temple of Speed for the 19th time but a first with the Italian Scuderia.
“It’s going to be challenging this weekend,” Hamilton added. “Qualifying is already… it’s already so close between us all, so just getting into Q3 is tough, getting into the top five is very, very tough.
“Then, on top of that, to be set back five places is not great when you’re going into your first Monza GP with Ferrari, but in the end it gives me more to fight for and I’m very motivated to make up those places.”
The 40-year-old Hamilton has had a difficult first season with the Italian team. He won a sprint race in China in March and has three fourth-place finishes — including at Imola in May in his first taste of racing in red in Italy — but hasn’t yet reached the podium in a grand prix for Ferrari.
Hamilton hit the wall at the Dutch Grand Prix as both Ferraris failed to finish but he said there were still “loads of positives” to take from the weekend.
The British driver is sixth in the drivers’ championship with 109 points — 200 fewer than leader Oscar Piastri.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” Hamilton said about his start with Ferrari. “Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that’s life.
“I like to think that we’re coming, even though we had a difficult Sunday, we’re coming out on the brighter end of the tunnel.”
Hamilton’s grid penalty gives him ‘more to fight for’ in Monza debut with Ferrari
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Hamilton’s grid penalty gives him ‘more to fight for’ in Monza debut with Ferrari
- “I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty and I was really, really shocked,” Hamilton said
- “It’s going to be challenging this weekend”
Olympic favorite Malinin pulls off stunning GP Final win
- Short program winner Yuma Kagiyama finished second overall on 302.41
- Malinin becomes the first skater to land seven quads in competition and will head to the Milan-Cortina Games in February as clear favorite in his Olympic debut
NAGOYA: Ilia Malinin showed why he is red-hot favorite for Olympic gold by winning the Grand Prix Final with a world-record free skate score after landing an incredible seven quads.
The American “Quad God” lived up to his nickname, coming from third place after a disappointing short program to claim the title in Nagoya with an emphatic 332.29 points.
Short program winner Yuma Kagiyama finished second overall on 302.41, followed by Japanese countryman Shun Sato on 292.08.
Malinin becomes the first skater to land seven quads in competition and will head to the Milan-Cortina Games in February as clear favorite in his Olympic debut.
“It gives me a lot of confidence that I’m able to go out there and get this done,” said the 21-year-old.
“I know that right now I wasn’t at 100 percent, so being able to do this at what energy and what percent I am now gives me a lot of confidence for the future.
“I will take the next few months leading up to the Olympics trying to perfect everything,” he added.
Malinin botched his signature quad axel in his short program when he unleashed it for the first time this season on Thursday.
He nailed the ultra-risky move in style in his free skate and kept the fireworks going for the rest of his routine.
His free skate score of 238.24 was almost 10 points more than his old world record, set in his previous competition at Skate Canada last month.
Malinin said he was “thinking of trying to water it down to play it safe but then I remembered why I came to the Grand Prix Final.”
“I decided that I wanted to go full out and give myself a foundation of what it would look like,” he said.
“I’m really satisfied with my performance and I know that I’m able to get these jumps under pressure.”
Kagiyama, the 2022 Beijing Olympics silver medallist, had a job on his hands to beat Malinin even with his short program lead.
He made mistakes toward the end of his routine and placed fourth in the free skate.
- Chock, Bates win ice dance -
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won the ice dance title.
The husband-and-wife team claimed the Grand Prix Final title for the third straight year, racking up 220.42 points to finish ahead of France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron on 214.25.
Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third on 208.81.
“It feels like a sprint to get to the Grand Prix Final and then all of a sudden you have a month or two before we’ll meet again in Milan,” said Bates.
“It really is the first half of the season and then there’s a lot of progress that can be made in the next few months, which is something that we’re looking forward to.”
