Damon Hill delighted with the Lewis Hamilton change he’s seen since arriving at the Monaco Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc didn’t arrive in Monte Carlo with much hope that they would have a successful weekend.

The Monaco Grand Prix, on paper, shouldn’t have suited Ferrari’s car after a difficult start to the season.

Charles Leclerc scored the team’s only Grand Prix podium in Saudi Arabia, while Lewis Hamilton’s successes since moving from Mercedes have been limited to Sprint Races.

However, from the first practice session in Monaco, it’s been clear that Fred Vasseur’s team have taken an unexpected step forward.

Leclerc was quickest in all three practice sessions and narrowly missed out on pole position to Lando Norris.

Hamilton crashed at the end of the final free practice session which was unfortunate timing heading into qualifying, but aside from that mistake, he looked really quick.

Fernando Alonso wasn’t happy with Hamilton earlier in the weekend, as tempers flared around drivers constantly being impeded on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo.

However, Damon Hill noticed something during qualifying that should give Ferrari fans plenty of hope that Hamilton is up for the fight of finally securing his first podium and victory in a Grand Prix for the Scuderia.

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Damon Hill notices much ‘feistier’ Lewis Hamilton during the Monaco Grand Prix

Hill was commentating for BBC Sport (24/5 3:03 pm) and noted during Q1: “I have to say, Lewis has looked quite happy with his car and he looks to be reasonably competitive and he’s saying positive things.

“So, I do see him being a little bit feistier, he’s got a little spring in his step after Imola, I think he had a good run there that’s given him hope, given him confidence.

“So, he’s going well around here at this stage of the weekend.”

Later in the session, Hamilton found himself under investigation for blocking Max Verstappen heading into Massenet.

He received a three-place grid penalty after a confused radio message suggested the Red Bull driver was on a slowdown lap when he wasn’t and Hamilton was blocking the racing line.

Hill continued: “Yeah, he’s had a bit of a mare hasn’t he, up at Massenet.

“The information he got there was misleading. We’re watching some replays of guys touching barriers, we’ve got Alonso touching the rear end of his car with the barrier at the exit of the first corner.

“Also Lewis, on the exit of the swimming pool, just tapping his right front [tyre], so they’ve all been pushing it.”

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Lewis Hamilton has his work cut out during impossible to overtake Monaco Grand Prix

Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from seventh after receiving his penalty, putting him behind Verstappen, Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso.

There may be opportunities to try and pull off a risky overtaking move at some point during the race, but only when a driver has a significant tyre deficit to one of their rivals.

The two mandatory pit stops are going to ultimately decide the result on Sunday, with the undercut likely to be every team’s most powerful weapon.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see several drivers brought in at the end of the first lap, in the hope that a crash later in the race will bring out a red flag to allow them to make their final change.

Ferrari’s strategy calls have been far from perfect this season, and that may worry Hamilton and Leclerc heading into the race.

But two correct calls from Ferrari’s pit wall could be the difference between squeezing into the points or challenging for a podium for the seven-time world champion.