Lewis Hamilton explained that a “computer” glitch was behind the confusion which led to him impeding Max Verstappen in Monaco.

And while the FIA stewards accepted that Ferrari – rather than Hamilton – were at fault, the decision was taken to give Hamilton a three-place grid penalty, meaning he starts Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix from P7.

Lewis Hamilton impedes Verstappen at Monaco GP: Technology to blame?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Verstappen was on a push lap as he encountered a slow-moving Hamilton through Massenet. Hamilton had moved to the inside, but the stewards noted that he had moved ‘into the racing line of Car 1 [Verstappen] entering Turn 3’, which caused the Red Bull driver to abandon his lap.

There was confusion over the Ferrari team radio between Hamilton and race engineer Riccardo Adami, Hamilton having been told that Verstappen was on a slow lap, rather than a push, which had caused him to return to the racing line.

And when speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, after qualifying, Hamilton explained that technology was the culprit and had let he and Ferrari down in this moment.

“Basically, there was some sort of issue with the computer screen,” Hamilton revealed. “So, it said that Max was on the lap, and then it disappeared, and said he wasn’t.

“So that was the information they gave me. They told me he was on a lap, so I moved to the side. I was completely out the way, and then I guess for them, they realised he wasn’t on the lap, so then they told me that. And so I started to accelerate. I stayed fully to the left, and I wasn’t on the racing line. But, of course, it was distracting Max.”

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Hamilton has endured a challenging start to life as a Ferrari driver, but off the back of his P4 result last time out in Imola, the seven-time World Champion can feel that progress is being made.

“I’m definitely getting there,” he declared. “I definitely feel the last race was a really good step. And then coming into this weekend, I’ve definitely felt more at one with the car.

“I think it’s a much, much different car driving here compared to what I’ve had the last 12 years. But one I really enjoy driving.”

While Hamilton was unable to challenge for Monaco GP pole come the all-important Q3, team-mate Charles Leclerc kept himself right in that mix and thought he had got the job done once more on home soil, only for McLaren’s Lando Norris to snatch the P1 grid slot right at the end.

Nonetheless, Hamilton’s solid qualifying performance came off the back of a late FP3 crash at Massenet, and when reflecting on his current experience in the Ferrari SF-25 compared to that of Leclerc, Hamilton added: “He hits the ground, and he knows it like the back of his hand.

“I’m still… I will say this weekend has been a steep learning curve, but I was quite happy with the recovery from the crash.”

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