Lewis Hamilton already feels part of Ferrari: "Seeing them win was fantastic. Fans look at me differently"
09/03/2024 01:14 PM
Lewis Hamilton speaks as a Ferrari driver
This was his last Monza weekend as a Mercedes driver. Then, starting from the 2025 Formula 1 championship, Lewis Hamilton will don the red and experience firsthand what it means to race for Ferrari at the Temple of Speed. Maybe he'll even feel the same emotions that Charles Leclerc felt last Sunday, with that masterpiece of heart and clear madness that allowed him to outsmart a stronger car and win in front of his fans. Lewis Hamilton tipped his hat to the performance of his future Maranello teammate.
Lewis Hamilton's words
"Seeing Ferrari win today is fantastic; it must be exciting for Charles. What a circuit to triumph on! Even during the Drivers Parade, I saw Ferrari fans looking at me differently for the first time, making a connection with me. They were dressed in red, but it already felt different. It's an interesting transition, and I think it's going to be truly incredible next year," the Briton commented to Sky Sport F1.
"I believe McLaren had the pace, but they pushed too hard," he added to the British media when asked about the pace and performance in the Italian Grand Prix – "They did too many fast laps at the start and killed the tires. I think they planned for two stops, which is why they pushed too hard. If they had taken a step back and gone longer, they could have definitely done just one stop. I had information on the lap times they were doing; there was no way to make the tires last at that pace. Charles did a fantastic job, so congratulations to him." – the seven-time Formula 1 world champion pointed out.
Speaking about Mercedes, the British driver dropped his role as an outside analyst and candidly admitted that the top-5 was the best possible result: "Today we didn't have the pace to fight for more. The McLarens and Ferrari were strong. I was able to keep up with Carlos Sainz, but without being able to extend the stint like he did. If we had started ahead of Carlos, maybe we could have kept him behind. Ultimately, though, today we needed a better car balance to achieve much more. It's a shame to leave a weekend where we seemed so strong without having achieved more. We made a great impression during practice and qualifying, but today we couldn't do the same. The field is very tight, and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next races. We'll keep working hard and hope to have a stronger race in Baku in two weeks." – the future Ferrari driver concluded.
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