Monza (Italy): Ferrari fans had mocked up a picture of Lewis Hamilton as a cry baby ahead of the Italian Grand Prix but the Mercedes driver was not the one shedding tears of frustration here, Sunday.
The boos and jeers rang out as the beaming Briton bounded out onto the podium as a five times winner of Ferrari’s home race — and the mass of red-shirted ‘tifosi’ showed how much it hurt.
Hamilton had started third, behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel on the starting grid, and yet he beat them both to stretch his championship lead to 30 points with seven races remaining.
“Here there was a lot of negativity, as there is when you’re against an opposing team,” Hamilton said. “In future, the negativity is really a positive thing for me because I harness it and turn it from negative to positive,” added the 33-year-old, who also paid tribute to his fans for holding firm.
I welcome it (negative response). If they want to continue to do it, that just empowers me
Lewis Hamilton
“I know I’ve got those individuals who are out there who travel the world to support me. I know they’re there,” he told reporters. “I’m really proud of them, because obviously when you’re in a big sea of red and there’s the booing and… you notice there’s this kid single-handedly rooting for you.
The Briton has many admirers in Italy too, even if Monza is more about demonstrating passion for Ferrari than the sport itself, and Hamilton refused to criticise the crowd for their response.
“It doesn’t offend me, no,” asserted Hamilton. “It is quite easy to harness it and use it and that gave me so much motivation today (Sunday).
