Lewis Hamilton’s confusion at the Monaco Grand Prix stemmed from his misinterpretation of race engineer Riccardo Adami’s message that “this is our race,” PlanetF1.com has learned.
After claiming his best result in Ferrari colours with fourth place at the recent Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Hamilton’s familiar F1 2025 frustrations returned at Monaco last weekend.
The seven-time World Champion crashed in the closing minutes of final practice on Saturday, leaving his mechanics with a frantic repair job ahead of qualifying.
Hamilton went on to secure an impressive fourth on the road in Q3, albeit more than three tenths slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc, before being hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen at Massenet.
Forced to start seventh, behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls car and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, Hamilton endured a disappointing race to fifth, more than 51 seconds adrift of the race-winning McLaren of Lando Norris.
Hamilton cut a confused figure after the race, admitting that he “didn’t really understand” a radio message from Adami with the communication “not very clear.
The relevant interaction came on Lap 17 of 78, one lap before the first of Hamilton’s two mandatory pit stops, when the driver asked: “What do you need from me?”
Adami replied: “And push now. This is our race.”
It is believed that Hamilton took Adami’s response – specifically the suggestion that “this is our race” – as an indication that he was in the fight for victory in Monte Carlo.
However, PlanetF1.com understands that Adami meant that Hamilton would not be used by the Ferrari pit wall to assist Leclerc’s victory hopes and was therefore free to run his own race.
Hamilton admitted to being surprised to see his deficit to the leaders after the race, having been under the impression from Adami’s message that he was closer to the front of the field.
He told Sky F1 on Sunday in Monaco: “’This is our race.’ I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Am I fighting for the next spot ahead or [something more]?
“But in actual fact, when I look at the data, I wasn’t anywhere near any of the guys up front.
“So I used up my tyres a lot in that respect, in that moment, but I was so far away from them anyway.”
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained that Hamilton lost considerably more time – estimated by the team to be around 10 seconds – than the leading quartet of cars in lapped traffic.
Hamilton was heard in yet another notable interaction with his race engineer after the chequered flag in Monte Carlo, asking Adami if he was “upset” with him.
The full exchange on the cooldown lap went as follows:
Adami: “It’s a P5. Lost a lot of time in traffic and then the rest we need to investigate.”
Adami: “And pick up please. Charge button on.
Hamilton: “Tough result. Yeah. Big thank you to the boys, as I said, for fixing the car. It’s not been the easiest of weekends, but we live to fight the other day, so yeah. Thanks.”
Hamilton: “Are you upset with me or something?”
Adami, who previously race engineered Hamilton’s Ferrari predecessors Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, gave no reply.
It is possible that Adami may have already disconnected himself from the team’s internal communications system before Hamilton issued his final message from the cockpit and was not aware of the driver’s message until it was too late.
Vasseur appeared to be unaware that this specific incident took place during the cooldown lap in Monte Carlo, pointing to Ferrari’s policy of not opening radio communications between Ste Devote and the tunnel during the race to allow the drivers to concentrate on driving.
Asked why Hamilton received no answer from his race engineer, Vasseur told media including PlanetF1.com: “When the driver is asking something between Turn 1 and 3, we have to wait [until] the tunnel to reply, to avoid to speak with him during the corners.
“It’s not that we are sleeping, it’s not that we are having a beer on the pit wall.
“It’s just because we have a section of the track where we agreed before to speak with him.
“Honestly, it’s not a tension that the guy is asking something. He’s between the walls, he’s under pressure, he’s fighting, he’s at 300kph between the walls and I am perfectly fine with it.
“I spoke with him after the race, he was not upset at all.”
Lewis Hamilton’s confusion at the Monaco Grand Prix stemmed from his misinterpretation of race engineer Riccardo Adami’s message that “this is our race,” PlanetF1.com has learned.
After claiming his best result in Ferrari colours with fourth place at the recent Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Hamilton’s familiar F1 2025 frustrations returned at Monaco last weekend.
The seven-time World Champion crashed in the closing minutes of final practice on Saturday, leaving his mechanics with a frantic repair job ahead of qualifying.
Hamilton went on to secure an impressive fourth on the road in Q3, albeit more than three tenths slower than team-mate Charles Leclerc, before being hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Max Verstappen at Massenet.
Forced to start seventh, behind Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls car and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, Hamilton endured a disappointing race to fifth, more than 51 seconds adrift of the race-winning McLaren of Lando Norris.
Hamilton cut a confused figure after the race, admitting that he “didn’t really understand” a radio message from Adami with the communication “not very clear.
The relevant interaction came on Lap 17 of 78, one lap before the first of Hamilton’s two mandatory pit stops, when the driver asked: “What do you need from me?”
Adami replied: “And push now. This is our race.”
It is believed that Hamilton took Adami’s response – specifically the suggestion that “this is our race” – as an indication that he was in the fight for victory in Monte Carlo.
However, PlanetF1.com understands that Adami meant that Hamilton would not be used by the Ferrari pit wall to assist Leclerc’s victory hopes and was therefore free to run his own race.
Hamilton admitted to being surprised to see his deficit to the leaders after the race, having been under the impression from Adami’s message that he was closer to the front of the field.
He told Sky F1 on Sunday in Monaco: “’This is our race.’ I didn’t know what I was fighting for. Am I fighting for the next spot ahead or [something more]?
“But in actual fact, when I look at the data, I wasn’t anywhere near any of the guys up front.
“So I used up my tyres a lot in that respect, in that moment, but I was so far away from them anyway.”
Speaking to media including PlanetF1.com after the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur explained that Hamilton lost considerably more time – estimated by the team to be around 10 seconds – than the leading quartet of cars in lapped traffic.
Hamilton was heard in yet another notable interaction with his race engineer after the chequered flag in Monte Carlo, asking Adami if he was “upset” with him.
The full exchange on the cooldown lap went as follows:
Adami: “It’s a P5. Lost a lot of time in traffic and then the rest we need to investigate.”
Adami: “And pick up please. Charge button on.
Hamilton: “Tough result. Yeah. Big thank you to the boys, as I said, for fixing the car. It’s not been the easiest of weekends, but we live to fight the other day, so yeah. Thanks.”
Hamilton: “Are you upset with me or something?”
Adami, who previously race engineered Hamilton’s Ferrari predecessors Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz, gave no reply.
It is possible that Adami may have already disconnected himself from the team’s internal communications system before Hamilton issued his final message from the cockpit and was not aware of the driver’s message until it was too late.
Vasseur appeared to be unaware that this specific incident took place during the cooldown lap in Monte Carlo, pointing to Ferrari’s policy of not opening radio communications between Ste Devote and the tunnel during the race to allow the drivers to concentrate on driving.
Asked why Hamilton received no answer from his race engineer, Vasseur told media including PlanetF1.com: “When the driver is asking something between Turn 1 and 3, we have to wait [until] the tunnel to reply, to avoid to speak with him during the corners.
“It’s not that we are sleeping, it’s not that we are having a beer on the pit wall.
“It’s just because we have a section of the track where we agreed before to speak with him.
“Honestly, it’s not a tension that the guy is asking something. He’s between the walls, he’s under pressure, he’s fighting, he’s at 300kph between the walls and I am perfectly fine with it.
“I spoke with him after the race, he was not upset at all.”
