Monza, italy – Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur believes the passionate support of the Tifosi at the italian Grand Prix played a critically important role in revitalizing Lewis Hamilton‘s performance, culminating in a sixth-place finish after starting tenth. Vasseur highlighted a clear upturn in Hamilton’s pace and mood,tracing its origins back to the previous race weekend in Zandvoort.
Hamilton topped the first practice session at Monza, with his teammate securing second, while Leclerc consistently placed second across all three practice sessions and remained a front-row contender in Qualifying. Despite Ferrari lacking the outright pace for a podium challenge in the race, Hamilton’s drive - including notable wheel-to-wheel battles with Oscar Piastri – and his recovery through the field resonated with the Monza crowd.This performance marks Hamilton’s best Grand Prix result since finishing fourth at Silverstone and ends a two-race streak of finishing outside the points.
“We had to serve the penalty, and we knew from the beginning of the weekend that with plus five it’s not an easy one, but [Hamilton] came back behind Russell and the pace was there from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race,” Vasseur explained. “Honestly, I think this started in Zandvoort last week. It’s challenging to say as the outcome of the weekend was not positive for him, but at the end of the day, the pace was better from the beginning, compared to Charles, the mood was better.”
Vasseur noted Hamilton’s competitive racing with George Russell, lasting until Lap 30, as evidence of his improved position. He further expressed confidence that Hamilton will secure a podium finish within the remaining eight races of the season, pointing to Russell’s own podium appearances as a benchmark. “[Hamilton] was able to fight with Russell in Zandvoort, to come back from P10 to the gearbox of Russell today,” he added. “Russell was a couple of times on the podium, [so] yes we can expect him to be on the podium.”
