Pity for Hamilton: 'It's a horrible situation for him'

Formula E driver Sam Bird calls the situation Lewis Hamilton found himself in at the Italian Grand Prix 'horrible', as the safety car rules were applied this time. The Briton can well imagine how the seven-time world champion feels.

The Italian Grand Prix ended behind the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo had to park his McLaren alongside the track. The FIA applied the safety car rules properly and this time was in no hurry to allow the lapped cars to overtake. In the 2021 season finale, Michael Masi made the controversial decision to remove only the lapped cars between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, and the Dutchman eventually overtook his rival for the title victory. Hamilton himself said after the race that he was having flashbacks to Abu Dhabi.

"For him, it’s a horrible situation, because now they’re following the protocol correctly. If they had followed the protocol correctly, he’d be an eight-time World Champion, to be honest", the driver says in the Chequered Flag podcast from the BBC.

According to Bird, the final stage of the race at Monza was the FIA's "worst nightmare" after the events of last year. "You’re in Italy in front of the tifosi with a Ferrari in second with the chance to win. [It’d be] very brave to let the two lapped cars go and get the racing going again. Because can you imagine the fallout from that kind of situation again?”