Lewis Hamilton has described his time at Ferrari as an “emotional rollercoaster” as he prepares to drive for the Scuderia at their home grand prix in Monza for the first time this weekend.
Hamilton, who observed bluntly that he had no expectation his first season would prove so “volatile”, has struggled with an uncompetitive car as well as having to adapt to a new team, having enjoyed enormous success in the previous 12 years with Mercedes.
It has been a tough transition and he goes into the Italian Grand Prix after an uncharacteristic error at the Dutch GP that led to his crashing out. Those travails were later compounded by a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under a yellow flag before the race at Zandvoort.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster,” he said on Thursday of his time with the Scuderia. “What can I really say? Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that’s life.”
The 40-year-old has not taken a podium place for 17 meetings, the longest streak of his career, and is sixth in the world championship. With McLaren comfortably leading the field, a win looks almost entirely out of reach, with all the teams having shifted resources to their 2026 cars.
However, the British driver insisted he was going to try to enjoy his time in Monza, his first time in red in front of the tifosi who will be attendant en masse for the home debut of the seven-times champion.
“I’d like to think that even though we had a difficult Sunday, we are coming towards the brighter end of the tunnel,” he said. “I read something recently where it said: ‘There’s no point stressing about tomorrow because it often puts shade on the present.’ So I’m really trying not to worry about tomorrow. I’m really trying to be in the present and enjoy every moment because this half of the season has gone by really quickly.
“I don’t want to miss any of these special moments that we’re having. Like my first Monza in Ferrari in red and when I leave the garage tomorrow, it’s going to be incredibly special coming on to this circuit.
“I want to give the tifosi absolutely everything this weekend to get the best result for them because the passion and the support they’ve given me and this team is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
At McLaren, Lando Norris, who saw his world championship hopes dealt a severe blow in Zandvoort when an oil leak ended his race while he was in second place, is trailing his teammate, Oscar Piastri, by 34 points. He remained stoic as he prepared to attempt a fightback.
“I can literally only look ahead to the next few races and try and do more than I’ve ever done,” he said. “But that’s it, if I lose the championship by those points, then I just have to keep my chin up, my head held high and try and do it again next year.”
Norris also confirmed it was a modest component that had broken on the car, causing the leak. “It’s a pretty small part, probably something that costs a little bit to make,” he said. “The team have done an incredibly good job so it’s unfortunate timing that it’s on what is probably the most important year of my career.”
