Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur is hopeful that Lewis Hamilton can use the “extra boost” from the support at the Italian Grand Prix to end his podium drought in Formula 1.
Hamilton’s debut weekend with Ferrari at Monza saw him cease a two-race run without points as he came home sixth, two places behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The Briton entered the final stop of the European leg knowing that he had a five-place grid drop to contend with due to an infraction at the previous race in Zandvoort.
But starting in 10th, Hamilton came alive in the opening laps as he cleared Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Yuki Tsunoda, Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto to lie seventh.
However, he was unable to stage a serious challenge to George Russell ahead, causing him to bemoan a missed opportunity to undercut his ex-Mercedes team-mate.
With degradation transpiring to be even lower than anticipated, Vasseur has conceded that, in hindsight, Ferrari would have been wise to be aggressive with Hamilton.
“No, it’s not that the pace dropped. I think we were able to come back on Russell at the end of the first stint,” Vasseur told media including Motorsport Week.
“Then we took a bet to extend and try to have a tyre advantage at the end, but the deg was too low and it didn’t work.
“But I think it was the best way to try to overtake Russell on track.
“Perhaps if I have to do it again, perhaps I would pit Lewis a bit earlier, but I think it was the best option to try something different.”
How Monza energised Hamilton for the run-in
Hamilton had departed the Netherlands in an upbeat mood despite crashing out as a revised approach to the weekend had seen him close the gap on his team-mate.
Vasseur believes the seven-time champion’s upturn continued at Monza, thanks in part to the encouragement that Ferrari’s ardent support provided through the week.
“Honestly, I think this started in Zandvoort last week. It’s difficult to say because the outcome of the weekend was not positive for him,” he addressed.
“But, at the end of the day, the pace was better from the beginning compared to Charles, the mood was better.
“During the race, he was fighting with Russell until Lap 30. That means that he was back in a better position.
“And I think the energy that he received from the tifosi [on] Wednesday in Milan was something very special for him.
“I don’t know if it was expected from him, or I don’t know what he was expecting from this, but it was something mega. I think this gave him an extra boost all over the weekend.
“For sure, we had to serve the penalty and we knew from the beginning of the weekend that with plus five, it’s not an easy one.
“But he came back behind Russell and the pace was there from the first lap of FP1 to the last lap of the race.”
While Hamilton remains without a podium this season, Vasseur has no doubt that his headline recruit will appear on the rostrum at one of the remaining eight rounds.
“He was able to fight with Russell in Zandvoort, to come back from P10 to the gearbox of Russell today,” he highlighted.
“Russell was a couple of times on the podium [this season]. Yes, we can expect him to be on the podium.”
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