Hamilton 'does not know' how Ferrari will attack the mandatory strategy in Monaco

14:42, 25 May

byOlly Darcy

Lewis Hamilton has said he "does not know" how he and Ferrari will attack the Monaco Grand Prix with the mandatory two pit stops that will be enforced.

Back in February, the FIA announced that they would add a mandatory two-pit-stop rule for the Grand Prix in the Principality to add a new dimension to a race that usually ends up being a procession.

As a result, teams and drivers will have had many talks about what strategies they will use for Sunday's race, although nothing was given away after Saturday's vital qualifying session.

Hamilton was judged to have impeded Max Verstappen during qualifying, meaning he had a three-place grid penalty to drop him from P4 to P7.

Hamilton still hasn't lost the spark from Monaco

"I think it changes a lot, naturally," Hamilton said in the driver parade on the Monte Carlo streets when asked about the new pit stop rule.

"A very tough qualifying yesterday for everybody. I was relatively happy with getting fourth, given the crash that I had in FP3. The penalty makes a big difference, obviously, being behind a few other cars.

"I think today, it's a two-stop. I don't know how it's going to work out. I think it will be really interesting to see how it works out, but it's definitely more of a lottery, I guess, than the one-stop originally we used to have," continued the 40-year-old.

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It's been 18 years since Hamilton first took to the streets of Monaco, but even with all those races, the special nature of the Principality has not worn off.

"I don't think it would ever go," continued the Brit. "It is just such an incredible circuit to drive and such a privilege for us to do what we do, all of us drivers here, to drive a Formula 1 car, and, in particular, a Ferrari, around this circuit.

"It's just phenomenal, and the cars have got faster and faster. It's such a unique experience coming to Monaco, so it's one I don't take for granted.

"It's special. I mean, it's ridiculous how many people come. Every year, more and more people are coming each year. I guess Monaco is growing in the sense that they've added some land here, but there are a lot of people here this weekend, and the weather's this good as opposed to a colder, rainier weekend. It's got huge support. I think the whole sport's got huge support this weekend," concluded Hamilton.