Lewis Hamilton has taken responsibility for the pit lane mistake which saw him slapped with a 10 second stop-go penalty during the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Hamilton finished the race in seventh after being penalised for entering a closed pit lane.
A mechanical failure for Kevin Magnussen saw the Haas roll to a halt on approach to pit entry as he completed Lap 17.
Initially covered by yellow flags, the Safety Car was then deployed and the pits closed as the stricken car was pushed into the lane.
However, Hamilton and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi both entered the pits and took usual service, the stewards handing each a 10 second penalty for the infraction.
A red flag just a lap following the Safety Car restart meant the field was tightly packed as Hamilton served his penalty.
“Firstly, we didn’t do a great job necessarily with the pit stop,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“Honestly, I didn’t see those boards, so I take responsibility for that.
“It’s something that we’ll learn from,” he added.
“To get seventh and still get a Fastest Lap, that’s still some good points considering I definitely didn’t think that was possible from 26 seconds behind the last car.”
The title leader raced his way back to finish just 17.2s off winner Pierre Gasly, despite passing eight cars.
“My race, wasn’t all it was meant to be today,” Hamilton admitted.
“It was a bit unfortunate but what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.
“So that was a long pit stop, 26 seconds I had to catch up, but nonetheless, once I finally caught everybody I enjoyed that bit of a battle.
“On to the next one.”
Fortunately for Hamilton, his title rivals also struck trouble.
A poor start left Valtteri Bottas stuck in traffic while Max Verstappen was forced out with a power unit problem and scored no points.
Seventh place and fastest lap meant Hamilton netted seven points in total for his effort.
He now holds a 47 point advantage over Bottas in the drivers’ championship with Verstappen seven points further back.
Formula 1 is in action next weekend, remaining in Italy for its maiden visit to Mugello for the Tuscany Grand Prix.
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