Damon Hill drops 5-word reaction to Lewis Hamilton getting a 5-place grid penalty for F1 Italian GP

Lewis Hamilton was handed a five-place grid drop for Ferrari's home race in Italy, as he failed to slow down for yellow flags during the reconnaissance laps before the Dutch GP. With the news about his penalty coming after his DNF in Zandvoort, former F1 champion Damon Hill shared his reaction over social media on the 40-year-old's subpar weekend.

The seven-time champion looked to be closely matched on pace with his teammate, Charles Leclerc, after a string of weekends where the Monegasque had the better of him. Though the 27-year-old was initially ahead of Hamilton, he showed promising signs in the race, and with the clouds lurking over the track, anything could have happened.

However, the rain clouds did not favor Hamilton this time, as it made the paint slippery on the outside of the banked turn three. The Ferrari driver soon suffered a snap of oversteer and crashed into the outside barrier.

With his day already ending in heartbreak, there was more to come for the Brit. He received a five-place grid drop for the next race, as he did not sufficiently slow down in the yellow flags during his laps to the grid.

Sharing his thoughts on Lewis Hamilton receiving a five-place penalty for the Italian GP, Hill wrote on his Instagram story:

"You can't make it up!"

Damon Hill reacts to Lewis Hamilton receiving a five-place grid drop for the Italian GP on his Instagram story | Source: Instagram/@96f1champ

Meanwhile, on the other end of the garage, Leclerc also soon retired from the race, as he was taken out by Kimi Antonelli in the latter half of the event.

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Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur opened up on the crash at the Dutch GP

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton crashed at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: Getty

After starting sixth and seventh, Ferrari ended the day with no points in its bag heading into their home race in Italy. Reflecting on his mistake that ended his pursuit of a solid result at the Dutch GP, Lewis Hamilton said (via F1's official website):

"I felt comfortable in the car and the pace was encouraging, but unfortunately I lost the rear under braking into Turn 3. It was a sudden snap and with the damp patch on the paint outside, I couldn’t avoid the wall. While it’s disappointing, there are many positives to take from the weekend and the team has worked really hard throughout. I want to apologise to everyone in the team and to the tifosi, both here at the track and at home — we had hoped to bring home more points today."

Fred Vasseur soon admitted it was unfortunate that the seven-time champion got out of the race in such a way, as he said:

"Unfortunately, Lewis lost control of his car, he went just a little bit wider than the lap before at the same corner and just touched the damp part at the side of the track."

With both Hamilton and Leclerc retiring from the race, Mercedes reduced its deficit to 12 points, as the battle for the second spot in the constructors' standings heats up.