Lewis Hamilton admits 'volatile' Ferrari situation ahead of first Italian GP with team

For years he was the villain who denied Ferrari success at Monza on so many occasions. Lewis Hamilton was even booed on the podium at times by the Italian team's ferocious fans. But the Tifosi are firmly on side these days as the seven-time champion aims to make the locals proud at the Italian Grand Prix.

He said: "My first Monza in Ferrari, in red, when I leave the garage tomorrow, it's going to be incredibly special coming onto this circuit. I just really reflect on when I was a kid watching Michael Schumacher winning here. And now I get to have that opportunity, that experience of being on the receiving end of the Tifosi.

"I want to give them absolutely everything this weekend to get the best result for them because the passion and the support they have given me and this team is like nothing I have ever seen."

That support has come despite a difficult debut campaign with Ferrari for Hamilton which he admits has been more "volatile" than he expected. "It's been an emotional roller coaster," said the 40-year-old, reflecting on his first season in red so far.

But he added: "Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that's life. I'd like to think that we're coming, even though we had a difficult Sunday [at Zandvoort last Sunday], towards the brighter end of the tunnel.

"I'm really trying not to worry about tomorrow. I'm really trying to be present and enjoy every moment. This half of the season has gone by really quick. There's obviously a long way to go, but I don't want to miss any of these special moments that we're having."

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Ferrari will race with a special livery to mark the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda's first F1 title, while Hamilton's helmet will also bear the Austrian's name. In his later life, Lauda was a friend and mentor to Hamilton at Mercedes.

The Brit said: "I think it's amazing this weekend because I got to celebrate Niki at Mercedes, I got to celebrate winning with him, winning championships with him, and then to be able to come to Ferrari and then also be able to celebrate him here is really, really cool."

But his chances of a win in Lauda's honour have been slimmed further by the five-place grid penalty Hamilton brings with him for failing to slow adequately for yellow flags last Sunday. Hamilton crashed out of the Zandvoort race and so a time penalty could not be applied.

He said: "I landed back home and then saw that I got this penalty. I was really, really shocked, to be honest. It's obviously not black and white. The fact is, if you look at the report, I did lift [off the accelerator], but to their liking [it was] not enough. That's why they're saying [it's] not more [than five places], but to get the penalty and get penalty points, [it's] pretty hardcore."