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Lewis Hamilton

'It felt vintage' - Lewis Hamilton in Ferrari awe after Imola surprise

Lewis Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari at Imola, in a race he showed some strong flashes of pace.

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Lewis Hamilton was left in awe of the "vintage" Ferrari tifosi following his best-ever result for the team in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, with fourth. 

Hamilton, who started 12th, was on the hard tyres and running long but was tucked up behind Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes for the first 34 laps. 

The Ferrari was able to pit under both the virtual and then full safety cars for fresh tyres, rejoining for the final Sprint in seventh. 

He quickly dispatched George Russell, and then as Alex Albon and team-mate Charles Leclerc squabbled, Hamilton was able to pass both to secure his best result for the Scuderia in a grand prix. 

Fourth is also his best grand prix result since second for Mercedes in the 2024 Las Vegas GP, as he finished 1.4s behind third-place Oscar Piastri. 

Reflecting afterwards, Hamilton was buoyed by the progress, as he also set the second-fastest race lap, only 0.277s behind race-winner Max Verstappen. 

"I definitely did not expect us to finish fourth today," Hamilton told Sky Sports F1. 

"I didn't know where we would be given we were so far back, but the car felt great, the team did a fantastic job with the strategy, they were faultless.

"We're slowly getting there, Riccardo [Adami] and I did a fantastic job with the communication. I was calm, he was calm, and the team was calm and executed the strategy. 

"Overall, it was mega, I was hoping for some extra laps we lost under the safety car, otherwise, we could have fought for the podium.

"The experience with the Tifosi, wow, it's been incredible. 

"It was very special for me to see the sea of red, and I didn't know how many people would turn up, and there was a huge Ferrari flag on the exit of Tosa, so it felt vintage.

"It felt like back in the day when I was watching Michael [Schumacher] race here and seeing that bond, it was great to experience, so I cherish that moment." 

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RESULTS 2025 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Imola