Monaco Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton says ‘I feel like I have to remind people who I am’

Hamilton thanked Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur, who was instrumental in signing the Briton to Ferrari at the start of 2024, for his support.

“Fred has been wonderful in supporting me,” he said. “Last year was a really tough year for us and we were begging for some changes (in the team and the car) and he went and made those, and now I’m seeing the fruits of that, and I’m finally able to offer them.”

Hamilton’s result, combined with a tough race for Mercedes’ George Russell, lifted the 41-year-old to second in the championship, 66 points behind runaway leader Kimi Antonelli and two ahead of his former Mercedes team-mate.

“I can’t believe I’m second in the championship so I’m really happy and thankful for that, I couldn’t have done it without this team with the reliability we have,” he said.

“It’s still very early days in the season, so we have to continue the pursuit. It’s easier to change than to prevent in life, I say, in life. And when these people are very, very high, we will continue to push, we will continue to pursue. I have no doubt that we will go there at some point.”

Hamilton ran second for most of the race and Ferrari confirmed the result was unaffected by a pit road speeding penalty, but said he was pleased with the performance of Antonelli’s Mercedes.

“I saw him come out,” Hamilton said. “Their performance is next level, so it was a good experience because it gives me a better idea of ​​not only what I feel I need to improve on the team, but also what I see. And yes, there are a lot of things we need to respond to.”

“Just overall performance. Downforce-wise, obviously they’re superior to us, and obviously, power. For us here, power isn’t such an issue, it’s just downforce.

“You can see it in drag, those guys are different for us night in and day out. Hopefully we’ve got some performance, and the guys are working hard in the factory, so I hope they’re happy with this result.”