Natalie Pinkham reveals whether Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc received louder cheers from Ferrari fans at Monza

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Charles Leclerc is aiming for his third Italian Grand Prix victory as a Ferrari driver this weekend. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton makes his first Monza appearance for the Scuderia.

Leclerc memorably won the race during his debut season for Ferrari in 2019. He beat the Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to end a nine-year drought for the Tifosi.

His triumph last season was also unexpected after a McLaren one-two in qualifying. He outwitted Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris with a one-stop strategy to create more iconic scenes.

Those wins account for a quarter of Leclerc’s Ferrari tally, while he’s also scored almost 50 podiums. Hamilton is yet to get off the mark in either category.

But even Hamilton was shocked by the scale of his Ferrari move. He’s the highest-profile signing the Italian giants have ever made.

Natalie Pinkham says ‘the roar’ was louder for Lewis Hamilton at Italian Grand Prix

Prior to the opening practice session, both Leclerc and Hamilton walked from the Ferrari garage to the Monza pit wall to wave at the fans. Natalie Pinkham of Sky Sports was watching on.

She says that Hamilton’s appearance drew a louder ‘roar’ from the grandstands. This is a surprise given his inconsistent form and the fact he’s only made 15 appearances for the team.

He’ll be dreaming of a maiden podium at the Italian Grand Prix, but he carries a five-place grid penalty into the event for a yellow-flag infringement at Zandvoort.

Hamilton has won five times at Monza, level with Michael Schumacher. In the past, he was the sporting enemy of Ferrari drivers like Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

“Actually, when we were in the pit lane earlier, the roar for Lewis was louder than [for] Charles,” Pinkham said on the F1 Show.

“I’m going to whisper that so he doesn’t hear me. That was an absolutely incredible response from the Italian fans for Lewis Hamilton.”

Jacques Villeneuve says Charles Leclerc is making the worst possible realisation about Ferrari

Fred Vasseur believes Hamilton has taken some pressure off Leclerc this season. The Monegasque is showing more ‘maturity’ than ever.

Leclerc ranks third on the all-time Ferrari appearance list, only behind Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. But he’s only just inside the top 10 for victories.

According to Jacques Villeneuve, Leclerc is starting to realise he’ll never be world champion at Ferrari. His distant runner-up finish to Max Verstappen in 2022 remains the closest he’s got.

He’s had some wonderful moments as a Ferrari driver, but as he approaches his 28th birthday, his impatience will surely be growing. After all, his performances against Hamilton this year have underlined that he’s one of the best drivers of his generation.