Lewis Hamilton expressed his bewilderment at the woeful getaway which arguably cost him victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
Hamilton, who had topped two of the three practice sessions and taken a dominant pole position on Saturday, was the hot favourite heading into the race but tumbled to sixth after a sluggish start.
The Briton was able to dispatch Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas before regaining second place when the Ferrari drivers made an extra stop. But, he was unable to ruffle the feathers of teammate Nico Rosberg, particularly after locking up and running wide at the first chicane as he attempted to gain ground.
The German’s win means Hamilton’s championship lead has been cut from 19 points to just two since F1’s return following the summer break.he conceded afterwards that he simply didn’t know why his start was so poor.
Speaking after the race, he conceded that he simply didn’t know why his start was so poor.
“I don’t know what happened, I did everything normally,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard to overtake here, so I live to fight another day.
“I do remember a bunch of cars coming by; I did the [start] sequence exactly the same, I think I got lots of wheel spin, maybe like Nico’s start at Hockenheim.”
Although understandably disappointed, Hamilton insisted he was ‘proud’ to be part of his team’s success.
“It’s still a great day for Mercedes-Benz and I’m proud to be part of it.”
Given the minimal gap between the Mercedes pair at the summit, the next few races could prove crucial in determining the outcome of this year’s world championship.
