That day is not too far where Lewis Hamilton will emerge as a multiple-winner across all destinations on the F1 roster. The Mercedes driver, it won’t be wrong to suggest, has done more than just emerge as a standard-bearer of excellence. Implicit in Lewis raising his game has been F1 raising the bar for those competing to better Lewis Hamilton. And perhaps that is Lewis Hamilton’s greatest success. That at a time where he’s right on the heels of catching Michael Schumacher, arguably the greatest driver the sport, he’s already carving a mighty record for the younger generation that would like to match his incredible tally. The next stop in Lewis’ amazing F1 journey is a track which beckons a simple question. Have you noted Lewis Hamilton’s record at Monza?
Why Lewis is the all-mighty at Monza
Senna- an all-time great- was called the original Regenmeister for reasons that were beyond his astonishing car control. When he blitzed the Donnington Park under wet weather back in torrential rains of 1993, he gave F1 something to remember for generations. Raikkonen is hailed as the ‘King of Spa’ for the ‘Iceman’s has clinched victory in the heart of the Ardennes on a record four occasions.
But Lewis Hamilton’s record at Monza speaks for itself.
Truth be told, if Kimi is the King of Spa and Verstappen the ruler of Austria, then Lewis Hamilton is the undisputed emperor at Monza, the home of the Italian Grand Prix. Implicit in Lewis Hamilton’s record at Monza is the fact that the Briton has roared, time and again, at the legendary home of the Prancing Horse.
To win at one’s home track is one thing but to conquer the sport’s most famous marquee in its own backyard is something quite other.
That Lewis Hamilton’s record at Monza is checkered with 5 brilliant victories is a feat that no driver currently running in the sport seems in the close proximity to, let alone better.
The only driver who’s won for the most number of occasions at the Italian Grand Prix other than Mercedes’ king is Sebastian Vettel, who’s triumphed at the Grand Prix on 3 different occasions.
Alonso, who’s no longer competing in the sport won here on two occasions. Max and Daniel are yet to win an Italian Grand Prix.
Interestingly, Hamilton’s streak of domination at the “Cathedral of Speed” is so special that he hasn’t allowed any driver to win here starting 2017.
But it remains to be seen what happens at the 2019 Italian GP
The staggering tally of wins at the Italian heartland told, there is something that would cause some concern to Mercedes in the upcoming race. In fact, according to Lewis Hamilton, there’s something special that the Silver Arrows would require if they are to triumph this time around at the 70-lap contest.
The 2018 World Champion shared that Mercedes needs “dramatic improvements” if they are to stack their machines ahead of the two Ferraris upon the completion of the checkered flag.
As seen as the just-concluded Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes had no answer to the straight-line speed advantage that played beautifully into the hands of the Maranello based outfit.
Straight Line Speed: the decisive weapon at Monza
As such, it’s been seen that Ferrari’s aerodynamic philosophy has panned out in a way that it has equipped the red cars wonderfully particularly in tracks that are punctuated by long straights and high-speed corners. It’s an aspect that has neutralized Mercedes’s quicker corner-pace.
In that regard, Hamilton’s raising a much important case in point is anything but a false alarm.
He shared some insights even before the cars would hit the track for the free practice runs and shared, “It’s all straights, so it’s going to be a happy weekend for Ferrari, most likely.
“In qualifying [at Spa], we’re losing over a second a lap. So, there’s not much me and Valtteri [Bottas] can do in that instance, and there’s not a lot of corners there to catch that up.
“It’ll be interesting. In the next few days, we’ve got to make some drastic improvements to our straight speed, somehow.”
Yet, the above told, the Hamilton-fan would fondly remember how the master of retaking the lost lead grasped the lead of the Italian GP in the fading moments of the 2018 event when he beat Raikkonen to register yet another emphatic triumph for the Silver Arrows.