02/09/2025 16:35
Lewis Hamilton is set to face an extra "degree of pressure" as he
ventures to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver
for the first time. The Briton heads to Monza on the back foot
following a poor first season with Ferrari, in which he has gone
without a podium in his first 15 races with the Scuderia, breaking
the record for most starts without a top-three finish. Prior to the
summer break, Hamilton claimed he was "useless" and that Ferrari
should sign "another driver" after a poor Hungarian GP qualifying,
but came back at the Dutch GP refreshed and was performing well
until he crashed out on Lap 23. His accident was the first time
since the 2009 Italian GP that Hamilton had crashed out of a grand
prix of his own accord, but his misery was further compounded with
a five-place grid drop for Monza. The stewards found he had
breached double-waved yellow flags on the reconnaissance laps to
the grid, meaning the highest he can start in front of the Tifosi
is sixth. He sits sixth in the drivers' standings, on just 109
points, and given the weight of expectation, the immense pressure
he is to face was explained on a recent episode of the
RacingNews365 podcast by lead editor, Ian Parkes. "There is always
going to be that degree of pressure because it is Ferrari's home
race and expectations are high," Parkes explained. "It is going to
be interesting to see what the reaction is going to be from the
Tifosi towards Ferrari, towards Lewis. "I say that on the basis
that when you think back to the start of the season, there was huge
fanfare and celebration around those laps Lewis did around Fiorano,
and that some fans there just did an almost special pilgrimage to
watch Lewis do those first laps. "Then, despite what was going on,
they got to Imola and hopes were high, even though things weren't
going right, but now we can see that the season has almost
completely tailed off in many respects. "Nevertheless, Ferrari fans
are going there knowing that neither driver has a cat in hell's
chance of winning the grand prix, but what about even being on the
podium? "That's something they would at least be hoping for and in
some respects still are, because it's Ferrari's home race, but what
is the expectation and hope going to be around Lewis, how are you
[the Tifosi] going to view Lewis because he's just not delivered.
"But I still hold true to the comments I've aired throughout the
season that this was always going to be a difficult transition year
for Lewis, and then let's see what happens in 2026 with the new car
and regulations." The article continues below. Hamilton's Monza
woes Elsewhere, colleague Nick Golding pointed out that Hamilton
was fortunate not to receive the full 10-place grid drop the
stewards considered handing out for the pre-race incident. "For a
driver who has done so many races, you'd imagine you know by now
how you've got to drive on a reconnaissance lap," he added. "It is
the fact that it could have been a 10-place grid penalty as well;
he is lucky to get five. "For me, going into Monza, it is the
biggest setback imaginable for what is really the biggest race of
the year for Lewis. "So as I already said, it is a pretty big
mistake to have made by such an experienced driver."
