Hamilton ‘strongly believes’ in Ferrari’s victory chances as he shares excitement over Monza engine upgrade

Lewis Hamilton was all smiles as the F1 paddock reconvened at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Thursday, with the Ferrari driver hoping that an engine update will boost his and the team’s Italian Grand Prix chances.

Hamilton started the Monza weekend in style with a statement arrival outside the paddock gates – turning up in a classic Ferrari F40 that he recently acquired while wearing a stylish black suit and tan overcoat.

After posing in front of the world’s photographers, Hamilton headed to the pre-event press conference, during which he fielded plenty of questions about how special it is to represent the Scuderia on their home soil, as well as what might be possible on track over the next three days.

“I mean, it’s the best feeling to be a Ferrari driver,” said Hamilton. “It’s such an honour and a privilege to arrive in Italy at this iconic race with the most iconic and best team in the world.

“It’s really phenomenal to experience it for the second year in a row, and it still feels new, so it’s not something you can get used to.”

Asked about another engine upgrade that Ferrari are set to introduce this weekend, and whether it will be enough to put him in contention for victory, Hamilton added: “Every little helps; every little helps.

“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, so that’s a huge deficit and we’ve carried that through the year to this point.

“What I can say is I really, really am proud of when I go back to the factory and I see how hard everyone is working, that they’re really just heads down. Everyone’s so enthusiastic.

“I see a different focus this year to last year. Last year I felt like there wasn’t really a North Star, and we were kind of... I think doing the best we could, but not really knowing where exactly we were trying to aim for.

“Now we have a North Star, we know where we need to work towards, and I think they’ve [the team at the factory] 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. I strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win.”

After a difficult first season at Ferrari, Hamilton admitted to arriving at this year’s event aware there could be “a first ahead of me” – in terms of potentially becoming an Italian Grand Prix winner at the wheel of a Ferrari, as well as moving clear of Michael Schumacher with six Monza triumphs.

Pushed on his comments about challenging for the victory this weekend, Hamilton added: “Well, my point was that I strongly believe that the team has what it takes to win.

“At this level, how close it is up front… I think for us to win this weekend, and in any weekend, it takes the whole collective to come together. It’s not just one thing; everything has to flow from the beginning.

“The pressure’s high. You want to deliver for the team. There’s all those people that are at the factory, and many of them will come to this race. The Tifosi come out in huge numbers, the passion is unmatched, and you want to deliver for them as well.

“My mum’s here this weekend. She’s never experienced… I don’t think she’s been to Monza, but also particularly on a Ferrari weekend, and I wanted her to experience that and bring any of the lucky dust she can bring.”