Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari are finding harmony: at the F1 Imola GP, radio coordination was one of the keys to the comeback. The British driver, who until now hadn’t seemed fully comfortable with his race engineer (Riccardo Adami), acknowledged significant improvements. The SF-25 also reaffirmed its status as a race-day beast: while qualifying remains a weak spot, the race pace on Sundays is almost always podium-worthy.
With both drivers eliminated in Q2, Ferrari’s first home weekend looked set to take a negative turn. Imola is, on paper, a circuit where overtaking is tricky—especially when starting from mid-pack. But regardless of the challenges, overtakes did happen—some crucial, such as Max Verstappen on Oscar Piastri at the start or Charles Leclerc’s rapid climb before the first pit stop—and Maranello responded effectively.
Strategic decisions, despite a fair bit of bad luck with the timing of the Virtual Safety Car first and the full Safety Car later, were spot on. The pit wall appeared resolute, focused, and eager to bounce back. The clashes seen in Miami were behind them; with the tifosi watching from the stands, a reaction was necessary—and it came. The race brought a smile to Lewis Hamilton, who returned to the edge of the podium for the first time since Shanghai.
Lewis Hamilton: “Now we just need to improve in qualifying”
After the Grand Prix, the British driver didn’t hide his joy and satisfaction at having pulled off a strong comeback in front of the Ferrari fans. He described the experience as incredible, noting how special it was to now be in one of the Ferraris and to feel such passion from the crowd.
At Silverstone, he explained, the connection is more about him being British, which is also very special. But here, the passion is centered on Ferrari itself.
Lewis Hamilton went on to say that he has always enjoyed races where he has to come back through the field, as they feel more satisfying than simply starting from pole and winning. He called it a fantastic race with many positives. The early laps weren’t spectacular—he lost ground and got stuck behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was on hard tyres—so he had to be patient and wait.
He praised the team’s strategy, calling it fantastic and noting that the pit wall made perfect decisions without any errors. It was the first time since China, he said, that he felt truly at ease in the car. There was real synergy, the setup was excellent, and they had made improvements for the race. The only thing still missing, he concluded, was unlocking the car’s qualifying potential. With five more laps, he believed he could have challenged for the podium.
Leave a Reply