Hamilton eyes historic Monza win

Lewis Hamilton has reflected on the possibility of becoming the first Black driver to win a home Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari, ahead of this weekend’s race at Monza.

The seven-time world champion has enjoyed an improved second campaign in red, bolstered by a maiden Grand Prix victory for the Scuderia in Barcelona in June.

The triumph kept him in title contention, though he trails Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 59 points with 11 rounds remaining. Hamilton arrived at Monza driving a rare Ferrari F40 whose engine bears his racing number.

His prospects received a boost as Antonelli faces a back-of-the-grid start after incurring a penalty for exceeding his engine-component allocation.

Ferrari also confirmed it has introduced its second engine upgrade of the 2026 campaign to address its straight-line deficit against Mercedes-powered machinery.

Reflecting on what a prospective 107th career Grand Prix victory would mean, Hamilton noted the historic significance, “I’ve really thought coming into this weekend, just thinking of the sheer magnitude of the concept. I didn’t even know that I was equal with Michael [Schumacher] on five Monza wins. But the thought that there’s a first ahead of me potentially winning in Monza for the first time with Ferrari would be phenomenal. And the thought that if I did that, I would probably be the only Black driver to ever do that for Ferrari in Italy in history. A lot of those thoughts have been through my mind.”

Hamilton acknowledged that while the power-unit upgrade may not close the entire four-tenths deficit Ferrari faced in recent outings, the team now possesses a clear development direction.

“This is a step forward; it’s not the whole gap that we need, but we knew that would be the case. 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,” Hamilton said.