Lewis Hamilton is eagerly looking forward to Monza after his disappointment in Zandvoort. The seven-time world champion just missed the podium during the Dutch GP, even though he briefly held the race lead. At the Italian GP, Ferrari’s home race, Hamilton hopes for more success: “But in the upcoming races, we really need to step it up,” he immediately warns.
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Lewis Hamilton just missed the podium at Zandvoort. Because he, as he explained himself after the race, got stuck behind his slower teammate Charles Leclerc, the Brit could no longer attempt an overtaking move on compatriot George Russell. Hamilton hopes to reach the podium at the next Grand Prix. Formula 1 will then travel to Ferrari’s home race at Monza.
Hamilton is already very excited about his second Italian GP in Ferrari red. “Yes, we are clearly in a very different situation now than in the past, and certainly than last year,” he told various media. “We are still second in the constructors’ championship. We can take many positive points from this first half of the season. In the upcoming races, we really need to step it up if we want to have any chance of catching these guys,” he referred to Mercedes and McLaren.
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‘Then I thought: ‘Damn!’”
For a brief moment, Hamilton got a taste of it in Zandvoort: due to an alternative strategy by Ferrari, the Brit took the race lead. “It felt nice of course to be in the lead, but when I saw how quickly those guys were closing in, I thought: ‘Damn!’,” said the seven-time world champion. “I wondered: ‘Can I finish the race in this position?’ But unfortunately, they came so quickly closer, so yes. I think we clearly still have a lot of work to do to close the gap with those Mercedes drivers.”
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