Lewis Hamilton enjoys being the ‘villain’ as Ferrari miss out at Monza

Mercedes driver returns to the top of the
F1 drivers’ standings ahead of Vettel

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Hamilton, who finished ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas and
Vettel, said he didn’t mind playing the villain in front of the
passionate Italian crowd. Quoted in The Guardian, Hamilton said: “It is to be
expected here in Italy – the last 10 years it has been common to
have that if a Ferrari driver is not on top.  

“Inevitably you are going to be the villain here
if you are the one who is stopping the Ferraris. If Valtteri and I
were not driving here Ferrari would have won. We are the villains
but some days I am really happy to be the villain and I don’t mind.
I just try to remain respectful and I admire their
passion.” 

Even though Mercedes secured a one-two at Monza,
Hamilton acknowledged that there’s still a long way to go in the
race for the F1 title. He also praised the Italian fans despite
their boos.

“Monza is such a historic GP track,” said Hamilton in
The Independent. “There are very, very few
tracks, if any, like it. It’s unique, this is a beautiful part of
the world, and to hear the fans all around the track… I’d like to
know how loud they were on the scale, their energy is
incredible. 

“But it’s still close between us and Ferrari and
there is still a long way to go, and the next track we go to,
Singapore, they should be quick with the extra downforce they have,
so I expect our fight to continue. 

“It’s a long time that Seb has been leading the
points, so with all ups and downs we’ve had, leading the world
championship for the first time in 2017 is a great
feeling.”