Lewis Hamilton admitted his fourth-place at the 2025 Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was the first time since China that he felt truly aligned with the Ferrari.
The British driver salvaged a poor qualifying from Saturday with an excellent recovery drive at Imola, just finishing short of a podium finish.
At the race start, Hamilton lost one place from 12th on the grid before finding himself stuck behind the Mercedes of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Both drivers capitalised on a Virtual Safety Car to swap tyres, with Hamilton displaying vintage moves befitting of a seven-time World Champion to storm up to fifth.
A Safety Car for Antonelli’s stranded Mercedes saw Hamilton pit for another set of Hard tyres, dropping him to seventh, but he quickly recovered lost ground.
He quickly passed George Russell for sixth, then capitalised on a Leclerc-Albon clash to pass both and finish P4.
Reflecting on the race, the 40-year-old was delighted to finally feel in sync with the SF-25 for the first time since China.
“I mean, there are tons of positives; one is the strategy,” Hamilton told media including Motorsport Week.
“It was really fantastic; they made great calls – didn’t put a foot wrong there.
“In China, I felt really aligned with the car and then the only other time is today.
“I felt that real synergy, and I think the set-up was great.
“We made a bit of an improvement in our performance for the race.
“We’ve just got to unlock the potential in qualifying.
“If we had qualified [higher up] we would have been fighting for a podium, which is something we didn’t think would be possible.”
Hamilton claims Imola P4 surpasses China Sprint win
After his best Grand Prix result of the season and the Ferrari team radio debacle in Miami, Hamilton’s strong performance in Imola was both well-earned and eagerly awaited.
The Italian marque had been searching for form since a Sprint race win in China, and after a double Q2 elimination, hopes were low.
Given the circumstances, it’s hard to disagree with Hamilton when he claims the Imola result was more impressive than his China Sprint victory.
“Well, China was pretty great, but I would say this one is better,” he stated
“I’ve always loved when you’re fighting from further back and coming through.
“That’s how I started off as a kid, that’s always such a better feeling than starting first and finishing first. But definitely, absolutely mega race.”
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