The Formula 1 2024 Monaco Grand Prix is not notorious for having the most action-packed races, but if you can’t overtake, pit stops are the next best way to try and score extra points – and the F1 Fastest Lap award is one way to do it.
Lewis Hamilton became the sixth driver to claim the prize this season and the second Mercedes driver in a row after George Russell at Imola, following Max Verstappen and Lando Norris (twice), Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri.
Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:14.423, on Lap 54 – the second lap after he pitted for fresh hard tyres. But he then went three tenths quicker with a 1:14.123 some 10 laps later as he pushed to close the gap to Verstappen in front of him.
The 39-year-old found himself in a race of his own for the majority of the 78-lap duration in Monaco, having stretched out a huge one-lap gap over Yuki Tsunoda all by himself.
He managed to stay within three seconds of Verstappen in case Mercedes wanted to try the undercut, but the Briton didn’t have the pace on his outlap to pull off the manoeuvre.
A missed opportunity
As it happened, Hamilton claimed he wasn’t told by his engineers that it was ‘Hammertime’ – the code used for Hamilton to push.
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And that proved to be an error from the Mercedes team, as Hamilton missed out on the chance to close the gap to the Red Bull driver.
But he will be boosted by the extra point that comes with setting the fastest lap and finishing in the top 10. In addition to the six points from finishing P7, Hamilton will add another seven points to his tally in the drivers’ championship.
Zhou Guanyu made his own last-ditch attempt to take the fastest lap for himself on Lap 73, and the Sauber driver had nothing to lose as he was rooted to the back of the grid. The Chinese star put on the soft tyre, giving him a significant advantage over Hamilton.
But on his first full lap on the used set of tyres, he was unable to find the pace to beat Hamilton’s quick time around the streets of Monte Carlo, despite racing in clear air while Hamilton was behind Verstappen.
