Lewis Hamilton declared he has reached his peak performance again, yet he maintains that there remains “scope for enhancement” after securing his initial podium placement with Ferrari at the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
On the Shanghai International Circuit, a venue where his sprint victory stood as an infrequent achievement last year, Hamilton surpassed his fellow driver Charles Leclerc in both qualifying rounds and emerged victorious in their prolonged contest on Sunday.
This enabled the British racer to occupy the third position on the awards platform, sharing it with the Mercedes drivers, who ultimately demonstrated insurmountable superiority.
This brought a sense of relief to Hamilton, as he had experienced the most extended period without achieving a debut Ferrari podium in the sport’s history, marking his twenty-sixth Grand Prix appearance for the Scuderia.
“Embarking on this journey and the aspiration of joining Ferrari to reach the pinnacle with them, achieving this podium has required more time than I had envisioned,” confessed the seven-time global champion.
“Following a challenging previous year, contributing to their development and collaborating with them throughout the past twelve months fills me with immense satisfaction, and it’s a tremendous honor to be associated with this marque. They supplied us with a remarkably robust vehicle.”
When queried about whether he believed he had returned to his peak form subsequent to a challenging inaugural year with the Maranello-based team, the 41-year-old responded: “I absolutely sense that I am performing at my highest level again, both in terms of my mental state and physical condition, indeed.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Nevertheless, Hamilton continued to highlight “areas for development,” attributing this partly to his age and partly to his ongoing adjustment to the Italian team. The British driver has transitioned to a new race engineer, Carlo Santi, formerly associated with Kimi Raikkonen; this current setup is temporary, and a determination regarding Santi’s full-season tenure in this capacity will be made at a later date.
“My training regimen this past winter has been the most demanding and rigorous I’ve ever undertaken, which likely correlates with advancing in age,” the British driver commented. “Recovery periods are extended. However, I’ve successfully integrated these novel techniques. I’m collaborating with an excellent trainer, with whom I’ve worked before, but our renewed partnership began on Christmas Day. Furthermore, time spent at the factory, coupled with having a new engineer, has clearly provided a significant uplift. Team morale is exceptionally high.”
“I genuinely believe there is further potential. I feel I can extract even greater performance from this vehicle. I am continuously gaining knowledge about it, especially concerning power deployment and similar aspects. Subsequently, towards the latter half of the previous year, I engaged deeply with the engineers, discussing my desired characteristics for a car that I had no involvement in developing during that period.”
“Witnessing them then develop the car with me this year and observing their responsiveness in incorporating some of my requested features into the vehicle, I am profoundly thankful for their attentiveness in that regard. It simply fosters a stronger sense of cohesion with everyone, as we are all progressing toward a shared objective.”
It is important not to underestimate the extent to which Hamilton was unable to affect the creation of the SF-25, given his somewhat delayed arrival at the Scuderia prior to the 2025 season; his initial day in Maranello was January 20th. Team principal Fred Vasseur is fully cognizant of this, which accounts for why – alongside enhanced team integration – he is not astonished by Hamilton’s elevated performance.
“Candidly, I believe the second [season] is consistently considerably simpler, as you participate in the initiative from its inception; he utilized the simulator in mid-2025, when we commenced the undertaking,” Vasseur noted following the Chinese Grand Prix. “And I think he also perceives himself as being somewhat more engaged in the venture than he was a year ago; upon his arrival at the team in January, the automobile was already present.”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Yong Teck Lim / LAT Images via Getty Images
“He also has a slightly broader acquaintance with everyone; the rapport is progressively improving, making it simpler for him to interact with individuals and collaborate with the entire group. Gradually, we must strive for incremental improvements, as this is the method by which we will reduce the deficit.”
