Hamilton and Ferrari need some Monza magic after disastrous Dutch GP

Monza is where the magic happens for Ferrari. And the Italian Grand Prix couldn’t come at a better time.

Formula 1’s annual pilgrimage to the “Temple of Speed” this week brings a chance for Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to rebound from race-ending crashes at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday. It was only Ferrari’s second Grand Prix this year without scoring points and Hamilton also picked up a grid penalty for Monza.

The only Italian on the grid, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, wants to “put in the trash” a practice crash at Monza last year, and make up for ending Leclerc’s race on Sunday. Success has been rare for Italian drivers at Monza, though.

Hamilton’s ‘unique  experience’

There isn’t much that seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton hasn’t done in F1, but racing for Ferrari at Monza will be something “unique.”

It’s Hamilton’s 19th race at the high-speed Italian track, but his first in red.

He’s spoken of wanting to enjoy his racing again after a difficult start with Ferrari, and insisted Sunday he’d made progress despite sliding into the barriers at the Dutch Grand Prix, “so to come away with that is definitely painful.”

Worse was to come later that day as Hamilton was handed a five-place grid penalty for the Italian Grand Prix for failing to slow down enough for yellow flags before Sunday’s race at Zandvoort.

Hamilton had a taste of racing in red in Italy at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola in May, and dedicated his result — fourth place — to the Ferrari fans. He still hasn’t been able to get onto the podium in a Grand Prix race for Ferrari.

“The support this team has around the world from the Tifosi is unmatched and so I’m sure it’ll be a unique experience,” Hamilton said last week.

A history of excellence

Even some of Ferrari’s most troubled F1 seasons have been redefined by success at Monza, like in 1988 when Gerhard Berger took an emotional first win for the team since the death of founder Enzo Ferrari.

Leclerc won there in his first Ferrari season in 2019 and again last year.

“I think our first experiences are going to be very different because Lewis has lived so many incredible moments already,” Leclerc said.

“I’m pretty sure that he will still be shocked by how special this week feels, but he’s gone through a lot more than I had done back then. I just came from Sauber to win in Monza with Ferrari, which was unbelievable. So it was all at once and it was quite crazy.”

Antonelli’s bad memories

It’s been 20 years since an Italian driver was on the Monza podium.

Kimi Antonelli arrived in F1 with plenty of hype as the youngster succeeding Hamilton at Mercedes. Crashing 10 minutes into his first F1 practice session for Mercedes at Monza last year was a tough introduction.

“I have amazing memories, but also really, really bad ones,” Antonelli said last week. “It’s going to be important to just have a clean weekend, clean sessions and just put in the trash what happened. I think it’s going to be a really special weekend.” JAMES ELLINGWORTH, ZANDVOORT, MDT/AP