Hamilton receives five-place grid penalty for Monza following Dutch Grand Prix

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has been handed a five-place grid penalty for the next round in Monza, after failing to slow under double yellow flags ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton receives five-place grid penalty for the next round | Credit: Formula One

After crashing out of the Dutch Grand Prix early on following a slide at Turn 3, Lewis Hamilton's weekend has received more bad news following the announcement of a grid penalty for Monza, Ferrari's home round.

Prior to the race, drivers were warned of double yellows waved at the last corner before the pit lane, to ensure the safety of those on the grid and in the pit lane.

This order was breached by the Ferrari driver on the pre-race reconnaissance lap, who was noted for the unusual infringement at the time.

A fiinal decision for the penalty was made by the stewards following an already disastrous race for Ferrari, with their reason stating: "The regulations require that any driver passing through a double waved yellow flag marshalling sector ‘reduce speed significantly...'

"We looked through the available telemetry within the FIA system. We also requested the team to provide us with their telemetry data. All of this took some time and this decision was delayed as a result.

"The data showed that the driver had entered the double yellow sector approximately

20kph less than his speed at the same point in practice sessions, had reduced

throttle application in the order of 10% to 20% and had lifted and braked 70 metres

earlier when entering the pit lane."

While ordinarily this would result in a 10-place grid drop, Hamilton's attempt to

reduce his speed and brake earlier lessened the blow and resulted in a lighter five-place drop.

The seven-time world champion, currently sixth in the standings behind his teammate, has experienced a tough start to his tenure at Ferrari - failing to clinch a podium in 15 race starts with the Italian outfit.

Ferrari's weekend went from bad to worse after a dismal qualifying on Saturday materialised into a double DNF during the race, Hamilton crashing out and Charles Leclerc's race damaged after contact with Kimi Antonelli.

With their home round right around the corner, and the famed Temple of Speed with ultra low downforce relatively trickier to overtake on, Hamilton can only hope for a better qualifying than recent times to salvage a positive result from this penalty.