Hamilton seeks to become first black driver to win for Ferrari in Italy

Lewis Hamilton has been contemplating the historic weight of potentially becoming the first black Formula 1 driver to win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix during the upcoming weekend. As a seven-time world champion, the idea of breaking new ground at Ferrari's home race in Monza has been at the forefront of his thoughts.

Hamilton has won five Monza races in his career but none with a Ferrari. Reflecting on his potential victory, he said, "Winning in Monza for the first time with Ferrari is something I’ve witnessed Charles [Leclerc] win in 2019, when I was on the podium with him. But to do it while I'm here would be phenomenal."

His first Ferrari race win came in Barcelona earlier this year, giving him confidence to challenge for the championship. Currently, Hamilton trails Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli by 59 points with 11 rounds remaining. His chances at Monza were further bolstered by Antonelli's grid penalty for exceeding his permitted engine-part allocation.

Hamilton admitted to feeling the pressure of competing against Ferrari's passionate supporters, the Tifosi, who are expected in large numbers. "The pressure is high. You also want to deliver for the team. There's all those people at the factory, many of them will get to come to this race, the Tifosi, who come in huge numbers and the passion is unmatched, and you want to deliver for them as well," he said.

The F1 hero will have his mother at Monza, who has never been to the iconic circuit. "My mum’s here this weekend because I don’t think she’s been to Monza, but also particularly on a Ferrari weekend. I wanted her to experience that," he said, hoping she brings "any of the lucky dust she can bring."

Ferrari's recent engine upgrade has given Hamilton more hope as he looks to challenge for victory. The team used its second permitted opportunity of the season to improve its power unit. Hamilton believes the upgrade could help narrow the gap with Mercedes, though he doesn't expect it to eliminate the deficit entirely. "Every little helps, and I think up until this point of the year we've been losing, even in the last race on such a short circuit we were losing four tenths a lap through the race. That’s a huge deficit and we've carried that through the year to this point," he said.

Ferrari's latest engine upgrade has helped narrow the gap with Mercedes, but Hamilton acknowledges that more work is needed. "I think they've done a tremendous job to really pull together and deliver. This is a step forward, it’s not the whole gap that we need but we knew that would be the case. But to see bits coming each weekend, adding to the car, it’s exciting to see that we are pushing and I strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win," he concluded.