MONZA, Italy, (Reuters) – Lewis Hamilton suffered another Monza nightmare yesterday when he went out of the Italian Grand Prix without completing a lap and lost his championship lead.
The McLaren driver banged wheels with Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa at the Della Roggia chicane while challenging for third place, breaking the McLaren’s front right suspension.
Massa’s Ferrari was undamaged and he went on to finish third, with team mate Fernando Alonso winning and McLaren’s Jenson Button runner-up after leading more than half the race.
Hamilton dropped to second overall, five points behind Australian Mark Webber who finished the race in sixth place.
The top five drivers are now separated by just 24 points — less than the reward for a single win — with five races remaining in what is shaping up to be the closest fought title battle in decades.
“The championship is not over, but it’s days like this and mistakes like I made today that lose world championships,” said Hamilton. “I only have myself to blame.
“It’s one of those days, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s nothing else I could do about it really. I got a good start but don’t know what I was thinking,” he told reporters.
