Lewis Hamilton says he is back with ‘more to come’ after first Ferrari podium

Lewis Hamilton insisted he is back to his best after landing the first podium of his Ferrari career at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

As Kimi Antonelli, 19, threw his hat into the world championship ring by becoming Formula One’s second youngest winner, Hamilton, the man he replaced at Mercedes, ended 477 days of hurt with his finest display in red to claim his first top-three finish since the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, 2024.

George Russell finished second and leads team-mate Antonelli in the title race by four points.

Hamilton endured a horror opening campaign at Ferrari following his blockbuster move from Mercedes. At one stage he described himself as “useless”, and even called on the Italian giants to replace him with another driver.

But Hamilton has been revitalised by the smaller, lighter, nimbler generation of cars which resemble a throwback to his glory years in the sport which yielded a record-equalling seven championships.

And the 41-year-old said: “I definitely feel like I am back, both mentally and physically, to my best. But I still feel there is room to improve.

“I started this voyage, this dream of moving to Ferrari and being on the top step with them.

“This podium has taken longer than I had hoped. But after a difficult year, to be able to develop and work on this season’s car gives me huge pride.

“Training last winter was the most intense I have ever had, and that goes hand-in-hand with being older and it takes longer to recover.

“However, I have managed to pull on these new tools. I decided on Christmas Day how I was going to start this season, and what I was going to do mentally, and I am going to continue to tweak that and there is more to come.

“A first win is more in sight than ever before and last year it could not have been further from view. I really do believe in everyone at Maranello and that it (Mercedes’ advantage) is not an impossible feat to overcome.

“I know it is not exactly where we want to be but we have a great platform to work off and we have to be full gas.”

Hamilton, third on the grid, took the lead in his fast-starting Ferrari before Mercedes displayed their superiority.

Hamilton then traded positions with team-mate Charles Leclerc six times in a fascinating duel for third.

“It felt like go-karting, back and forth, back and forth,” said Hamilton. “There was one moment that we did touch, but it was subtle, just a kiss. There was a thin piece of paper between us at times, but we did not exchange any paint and that is down to great drivers and respect.”

Antonelli, 21 years Hamilton’s junior, delivered a composed drive to beat team-mate Russell – a timely reminder to the British driver that he will not have it all his own way this year.

The Italian teenager did face a heart-stopping moment when he ran wide at the last but one corner with four laps left. But Antonelli held his nerve to dislodge Sebastian Vettel in the all-time list, to put him behind only Max Verstappen, 18 when he won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, in the pantheon of youngest victors.

Antonelli was in tears after the race. “I am speechless,” he said. “I want to cry to be honest. I gave myself a heart attack at the end, but I have achieved my dream.”