Ferrari icon bothered by Hamilton at Monza: 'I didn't like his attitude'

While Sunday at Monza was dominated by discussions about Max Verstappen’s commanding win and McLaren’s position swap involving Piastri, Saturday—the day of qualifying—saw much debate over why Lewis Hamilton didn’t give a tow to his teammate to help him start further up the grid.

The seven-time world champion was facing a five-place grid penalty and therefore had little to lose, yet Ferrari still chose to send their drivers out for two separate flying laps.

The result was Leclerc finishing fourth, just two tenths off pole, while Hamilton was fifth—later dropping to tenth once his grid penalty was applied.

Speaking to Corriere della Sera about what happened on Saturday, Jean Alesi wasn’t very pleased with that decision: ''I didn’t like Hamilton’s attitude. He really could—and perhaps should—have helped Leclerc on Saturday during qualifying.''

Finally, he added: ''We’ll have to wait for the next Hamilton, it’s clear by now, while keeping faith and trust.''

Even in the race, things didn’t change much for the two Ferraris. Leclerc initially managed to overtake Oscar Piastri at the start, only to later yield to the superiority not just of McLaren, but also of Max Verstappen.

Hamilton, on the other hand, produced a decent recovery, quickly passing a couple of drivers at the start, but his progress was halted by George Russell, who shadowed him throughout the race without ever posing a real threat to the Mercedes driver.