29/05/2011
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton has questioned his team's strategic decision to opt for just one run in Q3.
While his rivals, including world championship leader Sebastian Vettel, opted for two runs, McLaren decided that Hamilton should focus all his efforts on one late run. However, what they never bargained for, even on a circuit which continually throws up surprises, was Sergio Perez' accident, which effectively ended the session.
"I had the pace to be on pole, I'm certain of that," Hamilton told reporters having eventually put his car seventh on the grid. "Sebastian will walk away with it I'm sure, but that's racing.
"The engineers advised we should do one stop at the end of Q3 and I didn't contest it," he added, "I think you always have to have a balanced view with the engineers. I didn't take into account, and I know they definitely didn't, that in Monaco here you can't take risks like leaving it right to the end. You have to get out and get a banker like everyone else did.
You can't win from there but I still will not give up and keep pushing. I will just get as many points as I can and that will be it."
Asked how frustrated he felt, the Englishman replied: "If only you knew, but that's racing. Tomorrow is damage limitation once again."
To add to his frustration the McLaren driver subsequently had his Q3 time eliminated after the Race Stewards ruled that he had cut the Swimming Pool chicane. This dropped him to tenth on the grid, however, with Sergio Perez not taking part the Englishman will now start from ninth.