Lewis Hamilton is confident that Sebastian Vettel has made the right move in joining Racing Point in 2021.

"Honestly I thought that was the ideal direction that he was going to go," the world champion told reporters at Mugello. "I thought it would happen.

"I was really pleased to hear it," he continued, "because that team has new ownership, has already taken a huge step forwards in its performance and it will continue to grow.

"Maybe I'm biased," he added, "but I believe that experience counts for a huge amount. He's obviously had a difficult time at Ferrari but he's a four-time champion that can steer that team even further in a better direction in terms of car development. You should never take that for granted.

"It's a great move for the team. Of course I'm sorry for Sergio, but he's a great driver and I'm sure hopefully he'll have other options."

Asked about Ferrari, which celebrates its 1,000th Formula One World Championship race this weekend - and with which the British media previously linked him in a "dream move", he said: "I don't really know what... it's contributed such a huge amount to the sport.

"There's so much passion for the brand around the world and of course, Formula 1 wouldn't be the same without Ferrari.

"It's a brand that we need to keep here and do I hope at some stage we have them back in the competitive position so we can fight and get back to doing what they did well before."

Check out our Friday gallery from Mugello, here.