Lewis Hamilton Crowd Sign Goes Viral As Almost-Ferrari Driver Wows At Monza

Saajan Jogia | Aug 29, 2024

2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Thursday / LAT Images

Addressing the warm reception at Monza and the passion-driven Tifosi, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton revealed during Thursday's press conference that he remembers a famous picture from Imola that depicted him, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur, and Charles Leclerc as "saints."

Exhibited by a fan, the seven-time world champion surprisingly remembers the hilarious but well-detailed picture with his future colleagues as he spends his last season at Mercedes before moving to Ferrari next year. Hamilton also expressed in the interview how the vibe feels different this year considering his future move.

Speaking about the noted difference in the feeling and the excitement of the fans, the Tifosi, Hamilton told the media:

“I’m not gonna lie, it definitely does feel a little bit different [coming to Monza].

“I mean, it always feels special when you come here — coming here at a decent time in terms of the weather’s incredible today and obviously the huge changes they made to the track.

“But as Charles was saying, there’s always such an incredible passion throughout Italy, just in the culture in general, but particularly about racing, and it’s always exciting 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 not particularly matched in too many places."

The 39-year-old then goes on to express how he hasn't encountered negativity in the past at Monza, despite fighting his battles against Ferrari, before recalling the image that depicts him as a saint. He added:

“Over the last few years, I’ve had a really warm welcome every time, if I’m honest.

“There was one time when we were really fighting against Ferrari. Even then, people were positive. There was never any negativity.

“I think over the past few years, I’ve heard ‘vieni Ferrari,’ come to Ferrari. I heard that quite a lot, so it’ll be interesting to see how that is this year.

“Already in Imola, for example, I got a really warm reception, and there was this amazing picture of me, [Charles Leclerc] and Fred [Vasseur] as saints.”

Lewis Hamilton: “In Imola there was this amazing picture of me, you and Fred. Did you see it?"

Charles Leclerc: “As Saints?”

Lewis has seen this iconic picture omg -😭😭😂😂 pic.twitter.com/cwE2g5e7bD

— deni (@fiagirly) August 29, 2024

Hamilton concluded by saying that he looks forward to connecting with the Tifosi who make him feel special with their cheering. He said:

“When you’re on the podium, seeing the Tifosi all the way down to Turn 1 and then throughout the world, to be honest [is very special].

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