Nico Rosberg performs Lewis Hamilton u-turn after watching him at the Italian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton was the only driver who went into the Italian Grand Prix knowing he was going to be on the back foot.

At Zandvoort, Lewis Hamilton crashed out during the race after speeding under double-waved yellow flags before the Grand Prix started.

It meant going into Ferrari’s home race, Hamilton knew he had a five-place grid penalty, but still managed to reach Q3 at the Italian Grand Prix and started in 10th.

Karun Chandhok compared Hamilton to Nigel Mansell going into the race, as he witnessed the seven-time world champion relishing the love of the Tifosi throughout the weekend.

Hamilton drove brilliantly and made up four positions to finish sixth, and at one point looked like he was poised to overtake his old teammate, George Russell.

That didn’t come to pass, but Hamilton described his first race at Monza as a Ferrari driver as ‘unbelievable’, although he rejected the idea that he might greet the fans from the podium, as he hadn’t done enough to deserve to be up there.

The 40-year-old’s previous Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, was working as a pundit at the race, and reflected on Hamilton’s performance and mood before and after the race.

His performance at Monza did enough to change Rosberg’s mind about his demeanour after the summer break.

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Nico Rosberg saw ‘very rare’ Lewis Hamilton mistake before the Italian Grand Prix

Before the race, Rosberg was asked by Natalie Pinkham on Sky Sports if Hamilton had enjoyed a reset during the summer break, and he disagreed.

Rosberg argued: “I see him in a little bit of a challenging situation because Zandvoort, that is a mistake I don’t think I have ever seen in his career, that he is driving on his own and just crashes out into the wall. Very, very rare.

“The cars are very difficult to drive, and he’s not quite at one yet with the Ferrari, and also that does pull him down a bit mentally as well, because he would love to really feel connected and be on it with full confidence. He hasn’t found that state yet.”

Rosberg admitted the weekend was looking good for Hamilton before the race, and the 104-time race winner delivered on that promise on Sunday afternoon.

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Nico Rosberg and Jamie Chadwick praise Lewis Hamilton after the Italian Grand Prix

After Hamilton finished sixth, just 12 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, Jamie Chadwick said on Sky Sports F1 (7/9 3:49 pm): “I think given the pace they had in the race and how it sort of panned out, after the first five or six laps, I actually thought he could have been on for more.

“His pace was super strong, and he made a lot of moves to get through the pack, but after that, it seemed to settle down.

“I wonder with Lewis, how much this is going to motivate him, going through the rest of the season.

“Looking at next year, he’s not going to want to come back to a race like this and finish sixth again. He’s going to want to come back and stand up here [on the podium] and really put on a show for these guys.”

Rosberg reacted and said: “It’s very reassuring. Lewis has had a really good weekend. Of course, he’s still behind Charles all the time, but he’s really had a good weekend.

“And I’m really loving his positivity also! It’s really positive, and that’s a nice little change there, and if he can now carry that forward, in sports, it’s always about psychology, momentum.

“So, if he can now carry that forward, Baku is a strong track of his. Hopefully, he can come out of this difficult time and come into a period now of some great races.”

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Ferrari during unheard radio messages

Hamilton felt frustrated after his pit stop, as he wasn’t able to close the gap to Russell to finish P5.

However, he still made up four positions during the race, effectively maximising his result from where he started, something that hasn’t always been possible this season.

Hamilton apologised to Ferrari during qualifying as he felt he didn’t get the most out of the car, especially after the team decided against sacrificing his final run to give Leclerc a tow.

Again, after the race, Hamilton said sorry, believing he could have done more.

The Tifosi would have seen enough from the seven-time world champion this weekend to know that he’s turning a corner, and with the right car, 2026 could be a completely different story.