Hamilton sees Monza as 'biggest psychological blow' for Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton pinpointed Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's defeat at Monza as the pair's most painful setback of the year.

Hamilton's fifth crowning in Mexico City on Sunday was a predictable affair, the Mercedes driver having broken clear from arch-rival Sebastian Vettel since the end of the summer, when the German driver and his team lost their footing on the back of multiple errors and mishaps.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Andrew Benson, the freshly crowned five-time world champion broke down the latter part of his campaign, explaining where he had gained an upper hand over his challenger.

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Hockenheim, Monza and Singapore come to his mind, but the Italian venue - where Ferrari had locked out the front row only for Vettel to spin on the opening lap of the race after a contact with Hamilton - was "probably the biggest psychological blow" for the Scuderia.

"They'd had a couple - Seb's psychologically difficult time when he made a personal mistake [in Germany]," the Brit told Benson.

"As a driver, when the team makes a mistake, it's painful. But when it's you, when it's in your control, that's a horrible feeling. He would have taken that to heart.

"Then we had that fight at Monza. That would have been a team blow for them. But we didn't get complacent after that great result for us."

Indeed, the Silver Arrows squad - and its star driver - sustained the momentum and the pressure, relentless, while Ferrari fell back.

"We knew we still had to execute, going to places like Singapore where Ferrari usually destroy us. And what a weekend it was," he added.

"None of us predicted that we would've won in Hockenheim or Monza or particularly Singapore. Collectively we've done an amazing job in this team."

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