Lewis Hamilton came to Italy on Thursday and invoked his equivalent to 'Rome wasn't built in a day'. He asked for his fortunes at Ferrari to be judged over a 'few years'.

The need for patience was a distant thought when he was unveiled in February wearing a cape for the photoshoot in Maranello, the £60million-a-year saviour on a mission.

Fans clamoured for a first sighting of him on a bridge over the Fiorano test track that week and he turned up in Melbourne for the opening race with a smile as wide as the city's Port Phillip Bay.

Cut to the last round in Miami and the latest instalment of hard reality, which featured his sarcastic radio remarks to the dithering Scuderia that they should 'take a tea break while you're at it'.

They were not comments likely to curry favour with his garage foot soldiers. But they and the local disturbance caused, plus his own shaky form, are hardly the most pressing concerns at Ferrari's door.

The major problem is that they have designed a dud of a car.

Lewis Hamilton has endured a difficult start to life at Ferrari since joining ahead of this season

It is a far cry from the excitement from both his and the fans' perspective when he signed

Hamilton's sarcastic comments towards his Ferrari team have been commonplace this season

This is not the scenario Hamilton would have written for himself on this weekend, his first race in Italy at the wheel of a Ferrari. He will get a rapturous reception, the Tifosi wishing him the best of luck, and that is a consolation of sorts. But the faithful, he urges, must give the project time.

'I'm not judging our success by a short amount of racing, half a season, one season,' said Hamilton.

'Let's talk at the end of my career here at Ferrari, at the end of a few years, and see what we've done. That's when we can look back and say whether or not we were successful.

'These few months are paving stones towards where we're going, and that's that.

'We've got some bits here this weekend that hopefully can improve the car. I'm hopeful.

'Ultimately, it comes down to the self-belief you have, and it's just a mentality. I'm far from perfect. I truly believe that each day I can do better. I can try harder, and, if I fail, I try again.

'When it gets low, I have tools which I use. I don't really listen to all the stuff. There are so many rumours, so many people making assumptions, comments, judgments – 99 per cent of them don't know what's going on.

'Probably 100 per cent don't know what I've been through to get where I am today.'

Mail Sport understands that morale is low among Ferrari's team, according to a source in Italy

Hamilton called for patience and urged people to judge him at the end of his Ferrari contract

Hamilton can draw personal succour from flashes of his old self even in his troublesome time in scarlet. 

His win in the sprint in China represented two of his outstanding skills, the first over one lap (he took pole) and his ability to keep his rubber alive with a tyre-whisperer's knack.

He has also been a marvel at raising the spirits of a team over the stretch of his career, by his example as much as anything else. 

And, gosh, Ferrari need that tonic now. Morale is low, according to a source in Italy with his ear to the wall.

But first he must keep his own spirits up. He said: 'I often have to remind myself that I have won seven titles; I have won more than any other driver in history; I have done great things.

'While things aren't always great, they get better if you believe and continue to push.

'There's no lack of enthusiasm or talent in this team. I genuinely believe we're going to get there at some stage. We just have to be patient.'

Just how patient may be the snag.

Hamilton did show flashes of his old self with his impressive sprint win in Miami this month

Antonelli's fan club show their support 

A young tribe lunched at the Mercedes motorhome and then snaked their way up the Imola paddock wide-eyed. Average age 18.

They are the school friends of Kimi Antonelli, the Bologna-born teenager who is wearing his initiation as a Mercedes prodigy lightly.

Remarkably, he is still studying for his exams, receiving material online to keep him up to speed. His Maturita - equivalent to A-Levels - looms.

'I guess he's on revision leave now,' smiled one 'older boy' at Mercedes.

A group of Kimi Antonelli's school friends are in attendance in Imola to support the prodigy

Hamilton Snr links up with FIA

Anthony Hamilton is newly in harness with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA president disparaged by his son Lewis.

But Hamilton Snr told me his role is in no way political ahead of Ben Sulayem seeking (subject to confirmation) a second term in office later this year.

'I'm keen to work with the FIA to share my experiences from karting to F1 and hope that I can help turn young drivers dreams into reality,' said Hamilton Snr.

His involvement, as reported in The Times, is confined to the FIA's Young Driver Development Pathway.

Only a few minutes before this development came to light, Hamilton Jr had called the organisation run by Ben Sulayem a 'bit of a mess'.

One wonders how the Anthony-Mohammed collaboration will be tackled in the next father-son conflab.

Anthony Hamilton, Lewis' father, is working with the FIA's Young Driver Development Pathway

Lewis has previously criticised FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and his organisation

A tough start for Alonso 

Stat of the season comes from Aston Martin after six races. Lance Stroll 14 points, Fernando Alonso 0.

Could this be goodbye to Imola?

Imola is redolent with history and romance. It is what might be called old school. A classic track. The drivers love it.

It is secreted among vineyards and peach trees. And what is served on the plate is up to snuff because the Emilia-Romagna region is the kitchen of Italy.

Poignantly, up a little incline towards the Autodromo's gates is the bronze statue of Ayrton Senna, who died just out there at Tamburello Curve. Flowers lie in his lap.

But this year's edition in Imola may be the last for some time. The current contract runs out when the chequered flag is folded away on Sunday.

Stefano Domenicali, F1's chief executive, is partial to the place because it was here that he first worked in the sport. Born nearby, he directed traffic in the car parks as a boy. He semaphored Bernie Ecclestone to his berth.

But states that two races in Italy is one too many. He may be right. And, from a racing point of view, the cars are too big to serve up a reliable humdinger, however much the combatants themselves love the thrill of it.

The truth is that there are bigger hosting fees to be garnered elsewhere in the world. That is the bottom line for Liberty Media, the sport's insatiable American owners, and how could we expect sentiment to save little, shopworn Imola.

The best its advocates can hope for is that it forms part of a rotation with other European venues. That is in Domenicali's mind, I am told, but I doubt it is top of his in-tray.