Lewis Hamilton had a tongue-in-cheek complaint about Ferrari at Monza if he had finished on the podium

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Lewis Hamilton got to witness the Tifosi’s support first-hand as a Ferrari driver for the first time at the 2025 Italian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc experienced his second victory at Monza as a Ferrari driver last year, but neither he nor Lewis Hamilton was able to replicate that last weekend.

McLaren and Max Verstappen shared the podium, with the Dutchman producing another incredible performance to win his third race of the season.

Leclerc managed to finish fourth, while Hamilton recovered from picking up a five-place grid penalty to come home in P6.

Team principal Fred Vasseur admits Ferrari’s fans’ reaction to Hamilton surprised him, but he appeared to enjoy the reception he received.

Hamilton sent a message to the Tifosi over the team radio as he crossed the line, with his wait for a Ferrari podium now extended to 16 races.

It was an important weekend for Ferrari, both from a sporting perspective and a marketing one.

All eyes were on Fred Vasseur’s team, and journalist Nate Saunders shared that Hamilton joked he would have been upset to have been on the podium in front of thousands of Ferrari fans for the first time potentially wearing blue instead of red.

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Lewis Hamilton joked he didn’t want to go on the Italian Grand Prix podium wearing blue

Ferrari celebrated 50 years since Niki Lauda’s championship victory with a special livery at Monza.

On top of this, Hamilton and Leclerc were seen wearing blue team colours throughout the weekend, something that isn’t usually associated with Ferrari, however, his race suit was still red.

Speaking on the Unlapped Podcast, Saunders shared: “It feels like something hasn’t quite clicked. And there’s obviously some frustration behind the scenes.

“He did seem happy with Monza.

“I mean, he joked at one point, he’s like, okay, I spent all this time dreaming of being in Monza.

“I’m wearing blue instead of red, which I thought was quite funny. I did feel for him on that.

“Because I was like, imagine if he wins this race and he still ends up on the podium in a blue race suit.”

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Going on to discuss Hamilton’s feelings behind the scenes further after a tricky start to 2025, Saunders admitted: “I feel like with Lewis, I think there is such a thing as aura when you’re talking about great drivers, and great athletes.

“There’s something about when they step onto the court or the pitch or into the car, they give off a confidence and belief they’re going to do something.

“And that, to me, it definitely waned a bit at Mercedes, but there’s just been something about I feel like he maybe has started to doubt that in him in a bigger way since last year.

“And that, like you said, is ultimately quite concerning.”

Jenson Button admitted he was upset with Hamilton’s statement after the Sprint Race in Qatar last year, when he wondered why he was so slow.

The hope was that Hamilton’s form would improve once he joined Ferrari, considering how competitive they were last year.

That hasn’t materialised, and now it’s up to Vasseur to make sure the doubts Hamilton might be having don’t impact his performances too much.