Lewis Hamilton says he has been reflecting on the significance of potentially becoming the first black Formula 1 driver to win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix as he targets his maiden victory for the team at Monza this weekend.
The seven-time world champion, in his second season with Ferrari, said the possibility of breaking new ground at the team’s home race had been among his thoughts ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
According to Sky Sports News on Thursday, Hamilton had already won at Monza five times in his career, but none of those victories came in Ferrari colours.
“Winning in Monza for the first time with Ferrari is something I’ve witnessed Charles [Leclerc] win in 2019, when I was on the podium with him. But to do it while I’m here would be phenomenal.
“And the thought of if I did do that, probably I would be the only black driver to ever do that for Ferrari in Italy probably in history, maybe, and so just like a lot of those thoughts have been through my mind,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton’s first Ferrari Grand Prix victory came in Barcelona in June, boosting his hopes of challenging for the championship in his second campaign with the Italian team.
He currently trails Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 59 points with 11 rounds remaining, while his prospects at Monza have been further strengthened by Antonelli’s grid penalty for exceeding his permitted engine-part allocation.
Reflecting on the significance of another potential victory at the circuit, Hamilton said: “I’ve really thought coming into this weekend, as I pondered, just thinking of the sheer magnitude of the concept that I’m coming to this Grand Prix, I didn’t even know that I had I was equal with Michael [Schumacher] on [five Monza] wins, for example.”
“But the thought that there’s a first ahead of me, in the sense that potentially, if I was to win, you go into new territory.
Hamilton also acknowledged the pressure that comes with racing Ferrari at its home event, where thousands of passionate supporters known as the Tifosi are expected to attend.
“The pressure is high. You also want to deliver for the team. There’s all those people at the factory, many of them will get to come to this race, the Tifosi, who come in huge numbers and the passion is unmatched, and you want to deliver for them as well,” he said.
Hamilton will also have his mother at Monza, adding another personal dimension to the weekend.
The F1 hero said, “And my mum’s here this weekend because I don’t think she’s been to Monza, but also particularly on a Ferrari weekend. I wanted her to experience that and you know bring any of the lucky dust she can bring.”
Engine upgrade won’t recover ‘whole gap’
Hamilton’s chances of challenging for victory have also been boosted by Ferrari’s latest engine upgrade, with the team confirming it had used its second permitted opportunity of the season to improve its power unit.
Ferrari’s engine deficit to Mercedes has been one of its weaknesses this season, and Hamilton said the upgrade could help narrow the gap, although he did not expect it to eliminate the deficit entirely.
“Every little helps, and I think up until this point of the year we’ve been losing, even in the last race on such a short circuit we were losing four tenths a lap through the race. That’s a huge deficit and we’ve carried that through the year to this point.
He praised the work being done by Ferrari’s staff, saying he had noticed a greater sense of direction within the team compared with his first season.
“What I can say is I’m really proud when I go back to the factory and see how hard everyone is working. They’re really just heads down, and everyone’s so enthusiastic.
“I see a different focus this year to last year. Last year, I felt like there wasn’t really a north star. We were doing the best we could, but not really knowing exactly what we were trying to aim for. Now we have a north star, and we know where we need to work towards,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the latest upgrade represented progress but acknowledged that Ferrari still had ground to make up.
“I think they’ve done a tremendous job to really pull together and deliver. This is a step forward, it’s not the whole gap that we need but we knew that would be the case.
“But to see bits coming each weekend, adding to the car, it’s exciting to see that we are pushing and I strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win,” he concluded.
Source: punchng.com
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