Lewis Hamilton has often been a thorn in Ferrari’s side, spoiling their hopes of winning anything. It all began in 2008 when he beat Felipe Massa by one point to clinch his first-ever drivers’ championship. However, there has been an increasing sense of respect within the hearts of the Tifosi towards the 7x world champion. While some of it comes from Hamilton’s F1 history, a large chunk of it came owing to the infamous AD21 incident, as revealed by Sky Italia’s Roberto Chinchero.
“When you’ve won more than 100 Grands Prix, you’ve won seven world championships… I remember, in Italy there was a big support to Lewis after Abu Dhabi 2021. I think probably 80 per cent of the Italians were supporting Lewis [Hamilton] in that moment.”
To bolster his point, Chinchero cited the example of the late Ayrton Senna. Despite Senna never racing for Ferrari, Chinchero claimed the Italians were huge fans of Senna because of his story and his achievements. Similarly, Hamilton commands a lot of respect from the Tifosi, owing to the 103 GP wins and the 7 world championships under his belt.
Sky F1 Italys Roberto Chinchero:
„I remember, in Italy there was a big support to Lewis Hamilton after Abu Dhabi 2021. I think probably 80 per cent of the Italians were supporting Lewis in that moment.”https://t.co/RpFkRtv0PJ
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) February 13, 2024
With the Briton now moving to the Maranello outfit, he will further become a loved part of the family. Should the 39-year-old be able to break Ferrari’s jinx and bring home a championship, he shall become the biggest entity in all of Italy. Additionally, he might even equal the status of Michael Schumacher in the country.
It wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows for Lewis Hamilton in Italy
Back in 2018, Hamilton experienced a bittersweet moment during the Italian Grand Prix. Despite winning the coveted race, the Briton faced the wrath of the Italian fans, who booed him as he took the top spot on the podium. Hamilton accepted the negativity and revealed how it motivated him to perform better.
“While the negativity is never great, that’s what powered me along. It encourages me. It energizes me.”
Wow… I’ll never forget this. We did this together. To the fans, you stood tall, loud and bright in amongst all of the negativity that surrounded us today. We rise together. To my team, I am forever grateful of your vision and passion. We never give up #StillWeRise @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/SZ19bCC6Kh
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) September 2, 2018
He further thanked his supporters for their resilience in standing in a crowd of haters and staying true to themselves. The resilience showed by such fans further fuels Hamilton to continue pushing himself so the fans can be proud of him.
