Hamilton admits Monza ‘feels a bit different’ ahead of Ferrari move as he shares excitement about connecting with tifosi

Lewis Hamilton has conceded that the Italian Grand Prix weekend feels slightly different for him this year amid his impending move to Ferrari in 2025, with the seven-time world champion voicing his excitement about connecting with the team’s tifosi fanbase.

This weekend’s visit to Monza marks Hamilton’s first since the announcement back in February that he will join the Scuderia next season, bringing his extensive relationship with Mercedes to an end.

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While that partnership with the Silver Arrows is still ongoing for the remainder of the campaign, Hamilton has already started to feel the impact of being a future Ferrari driver whilst being at the Italian team’s home track.

“I'm not going to lie, it definitely does feel a little bit different,” Hamilton explained ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. “I mean, it always feels special when you come here. We're coming here at a decent time in terms of the weather's incredible today, obviously the huge changes they’ve made to the track.

“But as Charles [Leclerc] was saying, there's always such incredible passion throughout Italy, just in the culture in general but particularly about racing. It's always exciting just to see the fans that we're going to see throughout the weekend.

“The passion here and the excitement that they really bring to this race is really not particularly matched in too many places.”

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When asked about the kind of welcome he anticipated at Monza this year, Hamilton answered: “I don't know what to expect. Over the last few years, I've had a really warm welcome every time I've come, to be honest.

“There was one time when we were really fighting against Ferrari – I can't remember what year that was – but even then, people were positive. There was never any negativity. I think over the past few years I've heard ‘viene in Ferrari’ [come to Ferrari].

“I heard that quite a lot, and so it'll be interesting to see how that is this year! But already in Imola, for example, I got a really warm reception.”

Pushed on how excited he is to form a fresh connection with the tifosi, Hamilton responded: “Honestly, I'm super excited. Every year coming here, and when you're on the podium and seeing the tifosi all the way down to Turn 1, and throughout the world, to be honest.

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“Again, I don't know really what to expect, but I'm really looking forward to connecting with that community and being on the journey with them as we work towards taking the team forwards.”