Following his fourth-place finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton expressed confidence that Ferrari is nearing the capability to win races.
Starting from 12th on the grid at Imola, Hamilton executed a strong race. He capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car and a Safety Car period, making overtakes on George Russell, Alex Albon, and Charles Leclerc late in the race to secure fourth place, finishing behind Max Verstappen and the McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
After the race, his message over team radio was encouraging: “Let`s keep pushing.” He also acknowledged the cheering Tifosi.
Hamilton added that improving their qualifying performance while maintaining their race pace would lead to victories.
Ferrari had introduced upgrades aimed at improving pace, but both Hamilton and Leclerc faced challenges with tyre performance during qualifying, failing to reach Q3.
Hamilton described Saturday`s qualifying result as “devastating” for the team, lowering his initial expectations for a strong points finish in the race.
His race start saw him drop a position behind Kimi Antonelli, but a longer first stint strategy proved beneficial. The subsequent Safety Car allowed him to pit for fresh tyres, enabling him to climb from seventh to fourth in the final laps.
Reflecting on the race, Hamilton stated, “We didn`t expect the result that we had today.”
He continued, acknowledging the team`s efforts: “We came into the weekend very hopeful… being out of Q3 was tough to swallow, but I came in today and everyone`s heads were high and super driven. They did such a fantastic job with the strategy. The timing was right, calm and concise and clear – and I felt I won with the car.”
This performance contrasted with the previous race in Miami, where Hamilton had voiced frustration over strategy calls he felt hindered his progress relative to teammate Leclerc.
However, at Imola, Ferrari`s strategy worked well for Hamilton, who felt a podium challenge might have been possible if the Safety Car period caused by Antonelli`s car had been resolved sooner.
He expressed his satisfaction with the car`s setup: “It felt so great to finally get the set-up right and to have that bond with the car throughout the race. I`m ecstatic. It would have been great to have had some more laps and challenged for a podium.”
Hamilton praised the teamwork, adding, “I think we`re slowly getting there… me and [race engineer Riccardo Adami] did a fantastic job with his communication with me. I was calm, so then I think he was calm, and the team were calm and executing the strategy, and the pit stops were awesome.”
Villeneuve: Ferrari Pace Lacking in Qualifying
In contrast to Hamilton`s optimism, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve was less convinced about Ferrari`s immediate race-winning potential this season.
Villeneuve suggested that the team`s qualifying performance on Saturday was a more accurate reflection of their current limitations.
Villeneuve stated, “The qualifying was not because they messed up, the pace simply was not there. So you can`t have a turnaround with that. You still need the whole card, the whole team, it needs to get better. Obviously, as we saw today, Lewis is capable when it`s there. When there`s an occasion, he rises like he did today.”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur also offered a more measured perspective, cautioning against drawing sweeping conclusions from the race result regarding future prospects.
Vasseur commented, “We have to stop this where if Lewis has a good weekend everything is perfect or if it`s not a good weekend, everything is a disaster… We have to take it easy, stay calm and work together. I`m very pleased with the job done by everyone in the team today. Lewis and Charles did a good job, strategy did a good job. The only way for us to come back is to work as a team.”
