“The set-up was really good, the car felt really mega and the team did a fantastic job on strategy and pit stops.
“It was a lot of pressure on us with struggling through the year with the car so far, and particularly with our qualifying.
“I don’t remember the last time I had a race like that moving forwards. I’m sure there was one last year but this was different because I’m in the red car. To finally have that connection, that synergy with the car, was a really great feeling.”
Hamilton used an off-set strategy, starting on the hard tyre, to run long and then was helped by two safety cars. That put him on fresh tyres in seventh place for the final restart, from where he moved up to his final position.
“Bit by bit strategy started to pan out and the car really came alive when I got on to the medium tyres, and a great call at the end,” Hamilton said.
The 40-year-old Briton said he also savoured the experience of racing in Italy for the first time as a Ferrari driver.
“It was just really very reminiscent of when I was growing up watching it sitting at home on my couch, having a bacon sandwich watching Michael Schumacher here racing with Ferrari and seeing the connection,” he said.
“It was quite an incredible experience to think that I’m now here in one of the two Ferraris and having that connection with them. It is such a large passion for me, it’s unbelievable.”
The result – Hamilton’s equal best of the year so far in a grand prix – came despite Ferrari’s worst qualifying result of the season, with Hamilton and Leclerc starting 12th and 11th.
Hamilton added: “We just got to unlock the potential in qualifying. If we had qualified better, we would have been in the fight for a podium, which is something we didn’t think would be possible.”
