Lewis Hamilton shares emotional post-race radio after fighting to P2 in Monaco: “I’m sorry we didn’t win”. Go inside Lewis Hamilton's post-race Ferrari team radio after the 2026 Monaco GP.

As is often the case in Monaco, the spotlight heading into the weekend was firmly on Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver arrived at his home Grand Prix determined to play a leading role and celebrate the recent announcement of his Ferrari contract extension in the best possible way. Charles Leclerc approached the weekend eager to secure a strong result and mark his commitment to the Scuderia with a memorable performance in front of his home crowd.

In many ways, Monte Carlo appeared to be the perfect opportunity. The characteristics of the street circuit seemed ideally suited to the Ferrari SF-26, something that was confirmed by the encouraging signs shown during the opening practice sessions on Friday. However, despite those promising indications, the Ferrari drivers encountered several difficulties as the weekend progressed. The car failed to evolve as expected, while increasing pressure came from rivals like Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.

Several difficulties

A series of challenges also emerged during qualifying. On one side of the Ferrari garage was Lewis Hamilton, who chose to work around the limitations of a car that was not behaving perfectly and ultimately extracted the maximum possible result. On the other side, Charles Leclerc struggled to put everything together, making mistakes on his decisive lap and leaving himself with a more difficult task for the race.

The Monegasque driver was also dealing with brake-related issues that never allowed him to feel completely comfortable with the car. Those problems continued into the race itself and eventually played a major role in the outcome of his weekend.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, once again maximised the result available to him. The seven-time world champion delivered a strong performance despite the SF-26 revealing several limitations throughout the race. Hamilton also had to overcome a pit lane speeding penalty, yet still managed to secure second place and another valuable podium finish for Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc’s race ended in very different circumstances. The Ferrari driver crashed at the exit of Anthony Noghès after a combination of track surface issues and ongoing brake problems affected his car. The incident brought a frustrating end to what had already been a difficult Monaco weekend.

Hamilton’s positive moment

For the third consecutive race, Lewis Hamilton finished ahead of his teammate, continuing to establish himself as Ferrari’s leading performer in recent weeks. Boosted by his improving form and encouraged by the presence of his girlfriend Kim Kardashian in the Ferrari garage throughout the weekend, the British driver reflected on his result during the post-race radio exchange with the team.

Riccardo Santi: “Well done, Lewis! We can be happy with that.”

Lewis Hamilton: “Great job, guys. I’m sorry we weren’t able to win today. They had the edge over us this weekend, but fantastic work. I’m grateful for all the hard work, let’s keep pushing. Thank you, everyone!”

The message perfectly captured Lewis Hamilton’s mood after the Monaco Grand Prix. While pleased with another podium finish and encouraged by Ferrari’s recent progress, the Briton was also aware that the Scuderia still has work to do before it can consistently challenge Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli for victories.

Nevertheless, a second-place finish in one of the most demanding races of the season represents another positive step forward for Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, as the team continues its pursuit of race-winning performance in the 2026 Formula 1 campaign.