Hamilton harnesses negative energy for good

Lewis Hamilton said that he won the race because the negativity of the Ferrari fans powered him to victory at Monza.

The Brit started the race in P3, behind both Ferraris, but was able to get past Sebastian Vettel on the opening lap.

There was a collision between the two, which saw the German spin round and drop down to P18.

There was a partizan crowd anyway, but the incident led to the fans booing the Brit on the podium after the race.

However, the Brit said that he took that aboard and used it for his own good.

“There was a lot of negativity, as there is when you’re against an opposing team,” Hamilton said after the race.

“But I could see so many British flags out there, they know who they are and they inspired me so much for this race.

“That is what I was driving for. In future, the negative thing is only a positive thing for me because I harness it and turn it from a negative to a positive.”

For Hamilton, he then went on to overtake Kimi Raikkonen for the lead with nine laps to go, but admitted that the Scuderia put up a good fight.

“Firstly, I wanna give it up to Ferrari, who put up a great challenge this weekend,” the fourth-time World Champion continued.

“They really did an amazing job and they have given us such a great fight.

“Secondly I just wanna say thank you to the guys and everyone back home because without their support, without their continued efforts, this wouldn’t be possible today.

The race win was made more possible thanks to the efforts of his Mercedes team-mate, Valtteri Bottas. The Finn held up his countryman to allow Hamilton to close the gap.

“I have to say a big thank you to the team, and to Valtteri [Bottas] for helping us as well,” the Brit added.

“We never give up.”

Lewis Hamilton extends his lead in the Championship to 30 points, with Sebastian Vettel now struggling with seven races to go.