No one expected the fourth place, least of all him: that’s why Lewis Hamilton heads home from Imola with a smile, having completed his first race as a Ferrari driver in front of the home crowd.
This was the main aspect Lewis Hamilton highlighted when, after stepping out of his SF-25, he had to comment on a race that, as mentioned, saw the Prancing Horse starting from far back.
The very tough qualifying session, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc eliminated in Q2, had put the Ferraris in a position where they needed to try something in order to recover and at least give some satisfaction to the many fans who had gathered at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit to cheer on their favourites.
“First of all, the experience with the fans was incredible. So, thank you to everyone who came—it was really special for me to see the sea of red. I didn’t know what to expect this weekend, how many people would turn up, but it seemed like one of the biggest crowds we’ve had here, or at least I think so,” Lewis Hamilton told Sky Sport.
“It was amazing to see so many people, a huge Ferrari flag at the exit of turn seven. A truly epic experience, it felt like going back to the days when I watched Michael Schumacher race here; you could see that connection with the people—really fantastic to see and experience. It’s something I’ll always carry with me and treasure.”
After expressing due thanks to the many passionate and patient Ferrari fans, Lewis Hamilton moved on to a quick analysis of the race, which saw the two Ferrari cars take full advantage of the Virtual Safety Car and Safety Car phases to move up the order.
Lewis’ fourth place at the finish certainly masked many of the issues that had already emerged during Saturday’s tough session at Imola, but at least it sent the Scuderia’s drivers home with some good points in hand and morale, if not high, at least not on the floor—with the awareness that progress is being made step by step.
“I absolutely didn’t expect a fourth place today, I had no idea where we could end up, since we were so far back. But the car was really fantastic and the team did a great job with the strategy.”
“They were flawless and I think that little by little we’re getting there. I think Riccardo Adami and I did a fantastic job with communication; I was calm, so I think he was too, and the same goes for the team in executing the strategy.”
“In China it was wonderful, I really felt in sync with the car, and the only other time I’ve felt that was today. I sensed a real synergy and I think the setup was excellent. We slightly improved our performance in view of the race.”
“We just need to unlock the potential in qualifying—if we had started further up, we could have fought for the podium, something we didn’t think was possible. The pit stops were fantastic—overall, really everything was great. I was hoping for a few more laps, maybe we could have aimed for third place…”
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