‘I’ve tried to be respectful’ – Lewis Hamilton all-but throws in towel in F1 title race as he takes swipe at Ferrari

LEWIS HAMILTON has all but thrown in the towel in the F1 title race, while having a pop at Ferrari. The seven-time world champion was outclassed by 20-year-old Kimi Antonelli who won the Italian Grand Prix after starting in 19th. Lewis Hamilton was left ticked off by his Ferrari team at the Italian Grand Prix Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Antonelli’s heroics leave him 66-points ahead of George Russell, who came second. Meanwhile Hamilton is 76 adrift of the lead after a disastrous day for Ferrari saw him finish sixth, meaning he dropped 17-points to a driver half his age who started near the back of the grid. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Charles Leclerc suffered a DNF after a huge crash on lap 2 and is fifth in the standings, 36 points behind Hamilton. The two Ferraris also made contact as Leclerc squeezed his teammate wide on the first lap. On whether fans should be worried about a feud between the two, Hamilton said: “Look, I don’t race dirty. I’ve always raced clean and fairly and always left space. “So I don’t think they should be worried about me. “I’ve come into the team and tried to be respectful of space and definitely not put the team in jeopardy. I stand by that and that’s all I can talk about is on my side.” When asked about whether Ferrari should prioritise him in the title fight, he said: “We’re too far past that already. It’s too late for that now. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS “I lost a lot of points today to those guys and they’re just ahead. We’ll do our best to keep pushing the rest of the season, but they’re out now.” He added: “I think from today, we’ve just lost so much ground to them on points. It’s far too late for those decisions to come. The best travel deals for F1 NOTHING comes close to the thrill of a live Grand Prix – and YOU can be there to see it all. Get the full F1 experience with these unbeatable deals. 🇮🇹 ITALY – 3 to 8 Sept – From £789pp 🇦🇿 AZERBAIJAN – 22 to 27 Sept – From £1,399pp 🇸🇬 SINGAPORE– 7 to 14 Oct – From £1,999pp 🇺🇸 AUSTIN, USA – 21 to 26 Oct – From £2,799pp 🇶🇦 QATAR – 27 to 29 Nov – From £1,049pp 🇦🇪 ABU DHABI – 4 to 6 Dec – From £2,049pp See ALL our F1 travel offers HERE *If you click on a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. “It’s many, many weeks too late. All I can do is just try and turn up. I’ll get up tomorrow morning and I’ll give it my best.” When asked what Ferrari need to be doing to get the most out of races, Hamilton pointed to the team boss Fred Vasseur.He said: “Ultimately it comes from the top. It trickles down decisions. “It starts with Fred. There’s only so much you can say, so much you can push and shove and mount the top. Yesterday I said we’ve got to look at how we communicate.” Comment now