Lewis Hamilton shares his mindset at Ferrari following solid showing at Monza

After qualifying, Hamilton apologised to Ferrari over the radio for his lack of pace as he dropped down to P10 following his penalty. But he responded well on Sunday, working his way through the field to finish sixth.

Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton feels it’s a new start to the season ‘in his mind’ after Monza

Lewis Hamilton came away from the Italian Grand Prix feeling much more encouraged about where Ferrari are headed. It’s been a difficult early spell for him in Maranello, with performance issues and operational mistakes piling up over the opening races.

Ferrari have struggled to get the SF-25 working properly, especially with ride height. The car needs to run very low to hit its peak, and they haven’t quite nailed that yet. Before the summer break, Hamilton had even sent over documents outlining what needed to change.

The Brit was looking for a reset over the summer break to come back stronger in the second half of the year, but crashing at Zandvoort wasn’t what he needed heading into Ferrari’s home race. Still, Hamilton drew comparisons from Karun Chandhok to Nigel Mansell for how he handled that pressure at Monza.

He didn’t climb as high up the order as he might’ve hoped, but there were positives to take away from Monza. According to team boss Fred Vasseur, Hamilton now sees it as a fresh start mentally.

Vasseur told F1 TV’s Post-Race Show: “Honestly, I think he did a very strong weekend. He was there from FP1, he was P5 in quali and with the penalty [he] had to fight first 10 laps to come back P6 behind George.”

“And then he was matching George and it’s a good recovery. Not an easy weekend for him with penalty but OK now it’s a new start of season I think in his mind so let’s fight.”

Lewis Hamilton’s final radio message at Monza will delight Ferrari fans

Although Ferrari didn’t make the podium at Monza, Hamilton and Leclerc still gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about. Their performances helped stretch Ferrari’s lead over Mercedes to 20 points in the championship.

After the race, Hamilton took a moment over team radio to thank the Tifosi in Italian. He also praised the fans for their backing and gave a nod to the pit crew for their work during stops.

The Monza crowd were noticeably louder for Hamilton than Leclerc, a reminder that support for him hasn’t wavered despite a tough season in which he has publicly called on Ferrari to consider changes.

Before the race, Hamilton had urged fans to get behind them at Monza. The response was loud and clear, and he’ll be counting on that backing as Ferrari heads into the final stretch of the season.