Hamilton uses ‘negative’ tifosi to fuel latest career highlight
Briton wins on Ferrari’s turf to extend his lead Rival Vettel suffers early crash but finishes fourth
Lewis Hamilton was last night celebrating one of the finest victories of his career after he went behind enemy lines to stun Ferrari and take a major step towards securing his fifth world championship.
The fanatical tifosi supporters arrived in Monza for yesterday’s Italian Grand Prix expecting to see Sebastian Vettel convert a Ferrari lockout of the front row into a crushing win.
Instead, they saw their leading championship contender fall out of the reckoning after just four corners following a clumsy opening-lap collision with his rival.
Then, they witnessed Hamilton deliver a sensational performance, which climaxed in the Briton passing Kimi Raikkonen for his 68th career triumph. Vettel recovered from last to finish fourth.
Ferrari had been quicker than Mercedes all weekend at the “Temple of Speed”, yet it is Hamilton who departed the Italian team’s homeland last night having extended his title lead over Vettel from 17 to 30 points with just seven races remaining.
“Given the sheer pressure that we are under, I will definitely consider this win to be right up there in my career,” said Hamilton, who was subjected to loud boos on the podium. “There are a lot of Ferrari fans out there and you hear a lot of negative sounds, but that only encourages and energises me.
“When I spot the British flags amongst the Ferrari red, that is my fuel and I get my positivity and energy from them. They’re the miracle today.”
Vettel was at his commanding best eight days ago to win in Belgium, but his defeat here is a crushing setback in his champion-
It marked Vettel’s fifth big error of the season. Hamilton has largely failed to put a foot wrong
ship quest, and one from which he will now struggle to recover.
On a frantic opening lap, Vettel covered the inside of the second chicane, but Hamilton moved to the racing line and was ahead going into the corner. Vettel did not want to concede the place and, in doing so, thudded into Hamilton’s Mercedes before spiralling into a spin.
Vettel, who limped back to the pits for repairs, accused Hamilton of failing to leave him enough room. “Silly,” was the German’s verdict. The stewards looked at the incident and took no action, but Nico Rosberg, the 2016 world champion, had made up his mind.
“I think it was 100 per cent Sebastian’s fault,’’ he said on Sky Sports commentary. “Hamilton gave him all the room. He’s not going to become world champion if he keeps doing these things.”
Indeed, it marked Vettel’s fifth big error of the season, while Hamilton has largely failed to put a foot wrong. It is proving the difference.
With Vettel now out of contention, Hamilton sensed blood. On lap four, he briefly took the lead after sailing past Raikkonen on the main straight only for the veteran Finn to bite back two corners later.
The gap between Raikkonen and Hamilton lingered at one second, before the Ferrari driver pulled in for new tyres on lap 20. Hamilton went on for a further eight laps before stopping for new rubber.
He emerged six seconds down on the Ferrari car, and that looked to be that. But a combination of his blistering pace, and Valtteri Bottas in the sister Mercedes – who having yet to pit for tyres was backing Raikkonen into Hamilton’s path – enabled the Briton to close.
Then, with only eight laps remaining, Hamilton made his move. In front of swathes of Ferrari flags, he drew alongside Raikkonen at 220mph on the main straight before diving to the left and masterfully making his pass round the outside of the Ferrari at the opening chicane. The tifosi fell silent. “I didn’t want to walk away from here leaving something on the table,” Hamilton, 33, said. “Wheel-to-wheel battles are the thing I love most about racing. That was one tough race, but really enjoyable. This season is shaping up to being one of the best.”
Bottas completed the podium positions on a near-perfect day for Mercedes. Max Verstappen was demoted to fifth after pushing Bottas off the track. The five-second penalty provoked a number of expletives from the Dutchman. Told to relax by his Red Bull team, he replied: “No! Don’t worry about it? It’s s---. I gave him space. They’re doing a great job at killing racing.”
Romain Grosjean was disqualified because his Haas did not comply with a recent technical clarification.