Lewis Hamilton has described his time at Ferrari as an \u201cemotional rollercoaster\u201d as he prepares to drive for the Scuderia at their home grand prix in Monza for the first time this weekend.<\/p>\n
Hamilton, who observed bluntly that he had no expectation his first season would prove so \u201cvolatile\u201d, has struggled with an uncompetitive car as well as having to adapt to a new team, having enjoyed enormous success<\/a> in the previous 12 years with Mercedes.<\/p>\n It has been a tough transition and he goes into the Italian Grand Prix after an uncharacteristic error at the Dutch GP<\/a> that led to his crashing out. Those travails were later compounded by a five-place grid penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under a yellow flag before the race at Zandvoort.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an emotional rollercoaster,\u201d he said on Thursday of his time with the Scuderia. \u201cWhat can I really say? Did I expect it to be as volatile in terms of the feeling? No, but that\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n The 40-year-old has not taken a podium place for 17 meetings, the longest streak of his career, and is sixth in the world championship. With McLaren<\/a> comfortably leading the field, a win looks almost entirely out of reach, with all the teams having shifted resources to their 2026 cars.<\/p>\n However, the British driver insisted he was going to try to enjoy his time in Monza, his first time in red in front of the tifosi who will be attendant en masse for the home debut of the seven-times champion.<\/p>\n McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris suffered a costly mechanical failure at the Dutch Grand Prix. \u2018I just have to keep my chin up,\u2019 he said on Thursday. Photograph: Bradley Collyer\/PA<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to think that even though we had a difficult Sunday, we are coming towards the brighter end of the tunnel,\u201d he said. \u201cI read something recently where it said: \u2018There\u2019s no point stressing about tomorrow because it often puts shade on the present.\u2019 So I\u2019m really trying not to worry about tomorrow. I\u2019m really trying to be in the present and enjoy every moment because this half of the season has gone by really quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to miss any of these special moments that we\u2019re having. Like my first Monza in Ferrari<\/a> in red and when I leave the garage tomorrow, it\u2019s going to be incredibly special coming on to this circuit.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to give the tifosi absolutely everything this weekend to get the best result for them because the passion and the support they\u2019ve given me and this team is like nothing I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n