Hamilton declares 'back to my best' after first Ferrari podium

Lewis Hamilton secured his first podium finish with Ferrari at the Chinese Grand Prix, declaring he feels "back to my best" after a challenging start to his Scuderia career. The seven-time champion outqualified teammate Charles Leclerc and won their intra-team battle to finish third, ending a 26-race wait for a top-three finish with the Italian team and marking a significant personal milestone in his new chapter.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's podium breakthrough is a crucial psychological and performance marker for both the driver and the team. After a difficult debut season with Ferrari in 2025, this result validates his intense off-season preparation and growing integration within the team. It signals that the partnership is beginning to gel, providing a foundation to build upon in their quest to close the gap to the dominant Mercedes team.

The details:

• Hamilton's third place in Shanghai ended the longest wait for a maiden Ferrari podium by any driver in the team's history.
• He admitted the podium "has taken longer than I had hoped" but expressed pride in being part of the team's development process over the past year.
• The 41-year-old credits a radically intensified winter training regimen, calling it "the heaviest and most intense that I’ve ever had," as a key factor in his improved physical and mental state.
• Integration efforts include working with a new race engineer, Carlo Santi, on a provisional basis, which Hamilton says has provided "a real good boost."
• Team Principal Fred Vasseur highlighted that Hamilton's involvement from the start of the SF-25's development—unlike the previous car—has been pivotal. "He feels also a bit more involved into the project than he was one year ago," Vasseur noted.

What's next:

Hamilton insists there is "room to improve" and "more to come," particularly in extracting performance related to the car's energy deployment. The focus for Ferrari will be on sustaining this momentum through continuous marginal gains. Hamilton's deeper collaboration with engineers on car development, a process he was largely absent from in 2025, is now seen as a critical pathway to unlocking further performance and truly uniting the team's direction.