Lewis Hamilton "very lucky" to have an Italian following amid Ferrari links

Hamilton said that Ferrari could "potentially" be an option for him in the future: "If there’s a point in my life where there’s something I want to change, then Ferrari could potentially be an option."

Now, amid the speculation that we may one day see the five-time world champion in the famous red, Hamilton has admitted he counts himself "very, very lucky" to have such a following from Italy.

"I'm very, very lucky that I do have a good Italian following," Hamilton said to Formula 1's official website. "Ferrari, with the fans, now with this win happening and with not having a championship since 2007, there is yearning to succeed. So I'm sure they are just relating it to the fact that I have won the championship the last few years.

"But more and more as time goes on, I'm having Ferrari fans message me in my comments and say 'I'm a Ferrari fan, but I respect you a lot'. Things shift. But they are happy with their new young star and I am super happy to see how he progresses."

Charles Leclerc has shone in his debut season for Ferrari, particularly recently, with the Monegasque driver winning the last two races in Belgium and the team's home-race in Italy. However, the future of Sebastian Vettel remains as unclear as ever, with the four-time world champion yet to win a race this season.