Hamilton recovers from 13th on grid to finish 7th; "I can honestly move away from this happily and move forwards," Briton says
Sunday 28 May 2017 19:03, UK
Lewis Hamilton declared himself "really happy" with his seventh-place finish in the Monaco GP after starting 13th on the grid.
The Briton was forced into a recovery drive after being knocked out in Q2 of Saturday's Qualifying session with his Mercedes W08 struggling with tyre temperatures.
Sebastian Vettel's victory in Monte Carlo meant the German extended his Drivers' Championship lead over Hamilton to 25 points - the equivalent of one race victory.
Vettel beats icy Kimi in Monaco
But after a sleepless night and having been told by his strategists that a points-finish would be near on impossible, Hamilton was content with his six-point haul.
"I have the smartest strategists and they said the best result was looking like 10th," Hamilton told Sky F1.
"I went in with a positive mentality and pushed as hard as I could. I'm really, really happy with the result.
"I came in this morning feeling terrible. I didn't sleep a lot last night and to come away with the points that I have I can honestly move away from this happily and move forwards."
Hamilton immediately gained a position at the start as he passed McLaren-Honda's Stoffel Vandoorne off the line.
Mercedes' decision to then run the three-time wold champion long on his ultrasoft tyre saw him gain positions through the pit stops.
Hamilton had been off the pace since topping the timesheet in Practice One and team boss Toto Wolff described his finish as the "optimum result".
"The ultrasoft doesn't work with me so well. The supersoft was much better. The car was very difficult to drive this weekend," Hamilton added.
"The race was kind of boring the first part and the end when you couldn't overtake but the middle part when I was in clear air I enjoyed it."
Don't miss the F1 Report: Monaco GP review as Oliver Rowland and Will Buxton join James Galloway to dissect the iconic race. Watch on Sky Sports F1 on Wednesday at 8:30pm.
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