Under the afternoon sun and to the sound of the wild stands of the Shanghai circuit, Lewis Hamilton delivered a performance that recalled his best years, but this time in red: a rebirth.
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The seven-time world champion climbed onto his first podium with Ferrari during the Chinese Grand Prix, concluding a race full of panache marked by several spectacular wheel-to-wheel duels with his Scuderia teammate, Charles Leclerc.
After a difficult first season with the Italian team in 2025, Hamilton’s performance in Shanghai seemed to send a clear message: the champion is back, and he knows it.
203rd career podium
The 203rd podium of his career – an impressive milestone in a 20-year career – occurred after a race he described as pure pleasure at the wheel.
“I had so much fun, he declared after the race in the parc fermé. It’s one of the most enjoyable races I’ve done in a very long time, if not ever. The fact that the cars are as they are this year and that duel with Charles at the end, it was great, a real wheel-to-wheel fight, very fair and exactly what we want.”
The fight with Leclerc constituted the perfect conclusion to a weekend where the Ferrari star pushed his car to the limit, fending off pressure while showing flashes of the talent that defined his championship years.
Return to form
Later, speaking to journalists, Hamilton clarified that this podium was not just a simple result : it was the confirmation that he had found his optimal level again.
“I definitely feel back to my best, mentally and physically, he stated. I still think there is room for improvement. Training this winter was the most intense and heaviest I’ve ever had, and that probably comes with age, it takes more time to recover.”
“But I managed to integrate these new tools. I have an excellent coach I’ve been working with for a long time, but we really intensified the work since Christmas, he says. Then the time spent at the factory, obviously with a new engineer, was a real boost. The morale in the team is excellent.”
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Strengthened confidence
The winter reset seems to have paid off. Hamilton revealed that he had made a conscious decision during the holidays to reshape his mindset before the start of the season.
“I think there is still potential. I can still get more performance out of this car. I continue to learn it as the races go by, notably on power deployment, Lewis specifies. At the end of last year, I really dug in with the engineers to talk to them about what I wanted from a car that I hadn’t helped develop last year, and now I am participating in the development this year.”
“Seeing them listen and integrate some of my requests on the car, I am really grateful to them, he confides. It strengthens the feeling of unity, because everyone is moving in the same direction. I look forward to returning next week to Maranello to see everyone and push even harder.”
A long-awaited podium
This result takes on even more value given the time Hamilton had to wait to obtain it. His first season at Ferrari had shown flashes of brilliance – like a pole and a sprint victory in Shanghai last year – but the absence of a podium remained frustrating.
“I arrived this season with the confidence I once had, and I stuck to it, he explained. I pushed for a podium. It’s the hardest thing to obtain compared to many other moments in my career. It was the greatest challenge. It took patience and cultivating a really positive mental attitude, and I continue in this dynamic.”
Eyes set on victory
Hamilton’s last victory in a Grand Prix dates back to Spa, Belgium, during his last season with Mercedes in 2024. But after this encouraging start for Ferrari, the Briton believes that this drought could soon come to an end.
However, Hamilton knows that the path to the top step is not simple. He acknowledged that Ferrari must close a significant gap with Mercedes to be able to compete regularly for victory.
“In qualifying, we were a little closer yesterday, but in race pace, they currently have four to five tenths on us, he noted. It’s a huge amount of progress to catch up in downforce, efficiency and power. But I really believe in everyone at Maranello, and it’s not an impossible mission. Forza Ferrari!”
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