Hamilton “will work as hard as I can to one day stand on the top of that podium“
Having completed his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton vowed that he will “work as hard as I can to one day stand on the top of that podium.”
Ferrari did not have the pace for compete for the podium this weekend in front of their passionate Tifosi, but both the trackside team and their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc extracted the absolute maximum of their SF-25.
The Monegasque was aggressive and brilliant on the opening lap, overtaking championship leader Oscar Piastri to move himself up into P3. However, the SF25 did not have the race pace that would have been enough to compete with the McLarens and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, and Piastri managed to pick off the Monegasque to regain third spot.
Leclerc was then challenged by the Mercedes of George Russell, but he had a better tyre management and he was therefore able to escape from the Briton, ending up fourth at Ferrari’s home race.
His team-mate Lewis Hamilton started from P10 as a result of his five-place grid penalty. The seven-time world champion had a sensational start to pick off Yuki Tsunoda and Andrea Kimi Antonelli on the opening lap.
The Briton did not wait for long before he slipped past Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto. He then went on to hunt down his old team-mate George Russell, but he could not find a way past the Mercedes man, and had to be content with sixth.
Commenting on his race, Hamilton added: "We did a solid job today and I felt really comfortable in the car. The penalty made a good result challenging, but I gave it everything out there to deliver the strongest performance possible.
“There was definitely some good overtaking. It was tough coming from where I was to then try and catch up to all these other cars.
“Sitting in traffic for periods of time, obviously you lose time to the cars up ahead and you eat more of your tyres up,” continued Hamilton.
Reflecting on his first Monza race as a Ferrari driver, the seven-time F1 champion added: “It’s everything you could ever hope for. Of course, you want to be fighting at the front but it’s unbelievable to just be on the receiving end. It’s Ferrari all the way around the track.
“You see the pit straight now – it’s as far as the eye can see. It’s a dream to drive for this team, and I’m really just going to work as hard as I can to one day stand on the top of that podium. That’s my dream.”
He continued: “I’m so honoured to be driving for Ferrari and to be on the receiving end of the incredible love the tifosi have for us here in Monza. A big thank you to everyone for all their hard work this weekend, and I’m grateful for the progress we’re making together. Grazie a tutti."
