Hamilton shares heartwarming message for the Tifosi after 'solid' Monza weekend

After calling himself “useless” and saying that Ferrari “probably need to change the driver” in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton drew energy from the fans last weekend at Monza to deliver a strong performance in his first Italian GP as a Ferrari driver.

The seven-time world champion started the weekend strongly, setting the fastest time in FP1 and then qualifying fifth, just behind his teammate.

His race was, of course, affected by the penalty he received at Zandvoort the previous week, when he had failed to slow down under yellow flags just before the start of the GP.

Despite the penalty, Hamilton put together a solid race, immediately gaining a couple of positions at the start and gradually making his way up the field, even putting pressure on George Russell, though he couldn’t mount an attack for fifth.

He had to settle for sixth, but still showcased excellent race pace, which Frédéric Vasseur even described as “better compared to Leclerc.”

With the weekend behind him, Hamilton once again thanked the fans via his Instagram profile, posting the following message: ''Solid progress in Monza, the penalty made a better result challenging, but I gave it everything. Thank you to the Tifosi for bringing the passion.''

With the eight points earned at Monza, Hamilton now sits on 117 points, compared to his teammate’s 163, who, like the Brit, also failed to reach the podium in front of his home fans.