Lewis Hamilton targets his first Ferrari win at Monza, where victory would make him the first Black F1 driver to win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is targeting a historic first Ferrari victory at Monza, Italy, on Sunday, September 6, 2026, with the British driver reflecting on the significance of becoming the first Black driver to win for the Scuderia at its home Italian Grand Prix.

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Hamilton, who is in his second season with Ferrari, arrives at Monza having already won five times at the circuit, but none of those victories came in Ferrari colours.

The possibility of changing that record has given this weekend an added personal significance for the 41-year-old, who said he had been thinking about what a victory would mean before arriving at the legendary circuit.

“Winning in Monza for the first time with Ferrari is something I witnessed Charles win in 2019, when I was on the podium with him. But to do it while I’m here would be phenomenal,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton also acknowledged the wider historical significance of the possibility, saying a victory would potentially place him in new territory as the first Black Formula 1 driver to win for Ferrari in Italy.

The milestone would add another meaningful chapter to Hamilton’s career, which has already made him the most successful Black driver in Formula 1 history and one of the sport’s most prominent figures in its push for greater diversity.

The Ferrari challenge comes after Hamilton secured his first Grand Prix victory for the team in Barcelona in June. That breakthrough ended a lengthy wait for a race win since his move from Mercedes and provided renewed encouragement for his campaign.

Hamilton remains 59 points behind Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli with 11 rounds still to contest, leaving him with considerable ground to recover in the championship.

His prospects at Monza have received an additional boost after Antonelli was handed a grid penalty for exceeding his permitted allocation of engine components.

Hamilton’s relationship with Monza also carries its own impressive history. His five victories at the circuit put him level with Michael Schumacher for the joint-highest number of wins at the Italian Grand Prix.

A sixth victory would therefore not only give Hamilton his first Monza triumph as a Ferrari driver but also move him into outright possession of the circuit’s Formula 1 victory record.

“But the thought that there’s a first ahead of me, in the sense that potentially, if I was to win, you go into new territory,” Hamilton said.

The pressure surrounding the weekend is considerable. Ferrari’s home race traditionally attracts huge crowds of passionate supporters known as the Tifosi, whose loyalty has made Monza one of the most emotionally charged events on the Formula 1 calendar.

Hamilton said he understood the expectations placed on him and wanted to deliver for the Ferrari workforce and supporters.

“The pressure is high. You also want to deliver for the team,” he said, adding that the passion of the Tifosi was “unmatched”.

There will also be a personal touch to Hamilton’s weekend, with his mother joining him at Monza.

Hamilton said she had not previously experienced the Italian circuit, particularly during a Ferrari weekend, and joked that he hoped she would bring some “lucky dust” with her.

Ferrari’s prospects have also been strengthened by a power-unit upgrade introduced for the Monza weekend.

The team has used its second permitted engine-development opportunity of the season, with the upgrade aimed at addressing part of the performance deficit that Ferrari has carried against Mercedes.

Hamilton welcomed the development but cautioned against expecting an immediate transformation.

“Every little helps,” he said, explaining that Ferrari had been losing around four-tenths of a second per lap to Mercedes in the previous race.

The upgrade, according to Hamilton, represents meaningful progress but will not eliminate the entire performance gap.

“I think they’ve done a tremendous job to really pull together and deliver. This is a step forward, it’s not the whole gap that we need but we knew that would be the case,” he said.

Hamilton also praised the work of Ferrari’s staff, saying he had noticed a stronger sense of direction within the organisation during his second season.

He described the team’s current approach as more focused than during his first year, saying Ferrari now had a clearer understanding of where it needed to improve.

“Now we have a north star, and we know where we need to work towards,” Hamilton said.

That renewed direction will be tested at a circuit where Ferrari carries enormous expectations.

Hamilton’s first Ferrari victory in Barcelona demonstrated that the team can deliver a race-winning package, but Monza presents a different challenge.

The high-speed circuit places particular emphasis on straight-line speed, braking efficiency and power-unit performance, making Ferrari’s engine upgrade especially significant.

For Hamilton, however, the weekend represents more than another championship round.

A victory would give him a record sixth win at Monza, his first Italian Grand Prix triumph as a Ferrari driver and potentially a historic distinction as the first Black driver to win for Ferrari at the team’s home race.

Hamilton knows the task will be difficult, but his confidence in Ferrari’s progress remains intact.

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“I strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win,” he said.