Hamilton and Ferrari have turned the page
China confirmed itself as a ‘conquest’ land for Lewis Hamilton. A year ago, the seven-time world champion had obtained pole and victory in the Sprint sessions; at the end of the GP, however, a disqualification arrived for excessive wear of the plank (the race had been lackluster anyway, finishing outside the top-5).
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The 2026 edition instead saw Hamilton climb onto the podium for the first time at the end of a GP as a Ferrari driver. The British driver won the duel with teammate Charles Leclerc and completed what Toto Wolff jokingly called a Mercedes ‘1-2-3 finish’ behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.
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In the press conference, Hamilton emphasized that he had to wait much longer than he had anticipated to celebrate his first podium as a Ferrari driver: “I started this journey and this dream of moving to Ferrari and climbing onto the top step with them, and this podium took longer than I hoped. After a difficult year like the last one, it is a real pride to be here representing this brand after having developed the SF-26 together with all the guys working in Maranello. The car is really solid and this is a special day for me.”
