Lewis Hamilton says that he found his reception at Monza as "acceptable". Hamilton was heavily booed and jeered throughout the Italian Grand Prix weekend, as the fans were looking to see Ferrari take the spoils on home turf.

However it was a disaster race for the Maranello squad, after it locked out the front row in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel made contact with Hamilton on the opening lap of the race, which sent the German to the back of the field. The four-time world came home in fourth place, while Hamilton took the victory.

Hamilton has brushed off the booing that came his way, saying that it is nothing new to sport: “I think it’s acceptable. It’s done in every sport,” he said.”It definitely happens in football and here [in Monza] more than other [races] from what I’ve noticed.

"But it is the way it is. For me, it is easy, in the arena that we are in it is easy to allow it to get to you and allow it to have an impact on your life but it is also quite easy to harness it and use it. That gave me so much motivation. I welcome it and if they want to keep doing it, it just empowers me.”

When asked if he found the booing offensive, he said “No. There’s nothing to get offended by. I just keep smiling. I know I’ve got those individuals out there who travel the world to support me. I know they are there and I’m proud of them because when they are in a big sea of red and there’s the booing and then there’s one flag, you notice the one guy standing there with the flag or the kid waving.

“You can imagine being surrounded by that and having the heat of it, because all the eyes are on him or her. I really just appreciate that and respect it so much. So I really tried to point out to them and just know that I acknowledge them and appreciate them.”

Hamilton now holds a 30 point advantage over Vettel in the driver's championship heading to Singapore, while Mercedes has a 25 points gap to Ferrari for first place.