“There’s nothing easy about this one” - Hamilton critical of the W14 at Monza

Hamilton could only manage eighth on the grid for Sunday’s race, four places behind Mercedes teammate George Russell.

The seven-time world champion complained about a “lack of grip” during the early stages of qualifying.

At one point, it looked like he might struggle to make the top 10 shootout, setting the 12th fastest time after the first runs in Q2.

Reflecting on qualifying, Hamilton conceded he was just “struggling with the car” at Monza.

“I lost it all in I think the second or last sector, I was up in the first, a bit of the second, but I was just struggling with the car.

“Our car just in general is very hard to optimise, there’s nothing easy about this one.”

For the second time in F1 2023, the ‘alternative tyre allocation’ format was in play, with teams forced to use the hard tyre in Q1, mediums in Q2 and softs in Q3.

While it’s an added challenge, Hamilton voiced his support for the new format.

“Yeah, it’s [the new format] definitely difficult,” he added. “This qualifying session is definitely harder than normal.

“I prefer it I think. It was obviously good in Budapest, the last time we had it and I think it puts everyone on a more level playing field.”