LONDON, Sept 10: After being stripped of a stirring victory in Belgium, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton must fight to keep his Formula One lead in Ferrari’s home race on Sunday.

Italian fans will be hoping Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who inherited the win at Spa last weekend after Hamilton was demoted to third and world champion team mate Kimi Raikkonen crashed out, can pile on the pain at Monza.

“I am really motivated to have a great race there, especially in front of all our home fans,” said the Brazilian, two points adrift of Hamilton with five races left.

Last year the oldest and fastest track on the calendar effectively marked the point at which Massa had to swing behind Raikkonen’s title campaign after suffering a suspension failure early in the race.

The opposite could happen on Sunday, with Raikkonen now 19 points behind Hamilton going into the final European round of the year and with his own challenge fading fast.

The Finn, without a win since the end of April, refused to give up hope however. “We’ll give it all to win, for the team and for the fans,” he said.

If Massa scores two points more than Hamilton, he will go top on race wins (5-4 at present) - at least until McLaren’s appeal into the Spa stewards’ decision is heard.

The 23-year-old Briton also has high hopes for Monza, with Mercedes-powered McLaren romping to a one-two there last year. “It is just going to be a very tough fight,” Hamilton said of the battle ahead. “But I will do everything I can to make sure I come to the next race just as strong, if not stronger.”—Reuters