Lewis Hamilton: “What incredible fans, a unique experience I’ll always keep in my heart” | Imola GP. Lewis Hamilton reflects on his fourth-place finish at Imola.

Lewis Hamilton lifts his head again at Imola
Yesterday’s downcast look gives way to today’s emotional smiles. Lewis Hamilton is used to fighting for higher goals than a fourth place, but especially in F1, joy is relative: given how Ferrari’s Sunday had started, the 20 points scored by #44 and Charles Leclerc are an excellent haul. At Imola, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion was cautious in the early stages, but from the Virtual Safety Car onward, the race events turned in his favor, allowing him to optimize his pit stop timing and have fresh tyres for the final phase of the GP.

Taking advantage of the Safety Car deployed due to an accelerator issue on Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton returned to the pits to fit new hard tyres and prepare for an attacking end to the race, during which he lit up Imola by quickly overtaking George Russell, Alex Albon, and Charles Leclerc himself. Had the Safety Car lasted a few laps less, Sir Lewis might even have reached the podium, considering he finished just 1.4 seconds behind Oscar Piastri, who was also struggling with tyres.

Lewis Hamilton’s words
“The car gave me great sensations, the team did a fantastic job and I think we’re gradually getting there. Riccardo (Adami, ed.) did an excellent job communicating with me, I kept calm and he stayed calm as a result,” said the Briton to Sky Sport F1. “The whole team remained calm, even in executing the strategy and the pit stop—overall it was an exceptional race. I was hoping for a few more laps, maybe I could have made it to the podium.”

“I’m really happy, the spirit of the fans was incredible. Thank you so much to everyone who came here, it was really special for me to see the sea of red,” he continued. “I didn’t know what to expect, I don’t know how many people showed up, but I think in the end there was a massive crowd, one of the biggest ever here. Seeing so many people, with a huge Ferrari flag at Turn 7, felt ‘vintage’—like when I used to watch Michael Schumacher racing. It was truly amazing to see, a unique experience I’ll always keep in my heart. And I definitely didn’t expect to finish fourth today, starting that far back.”