Hamilton hails ‘really great feeling’ of fightback to P4

Lewis Hamilton was buoyed by his recovery drive from P12 to P4 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion admitting that doing this in front of Ferrari’s home fans for the first time was a “really great feeling”, while team mate Charles Leclerc cut a more frustrated figure despite moving up to P6.

The Scuderia had endured a nightmare Qualifying on Saturday that saw both Leclerc and Hamilton exit Q2 in 11th and 12th places respectively, meaning that the pair had their work cut out for them come Sunday.

READ MORE: Verstappen storms to victory in thrilling Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Piastri

Both drivers looked to be in fighting mood, however, with Hamilton pulling off a series of overtakes – as well as benefitting from a well-timed pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car, having been one of those to run an extended first stint – en route to a final result of fourth, crossing the line less than two seconds behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in third.

After jumping out of the car, Hamilton was asked whether fighting back through the field in front of the adoring Tifosi was the type of scenario he had dreamed of during his first season as a Ferrari driver.

Hamilton had his first experience of racing in front of the Tifosi as a Ferrari driver at Imola

“I mean, obviously I couldn’t hear them, but to drive in front of the Tifosi today [and] this weekend has been a highlight of the year so far,” the 40-year-old smiled.

“There was a lot of pressure on us as a team, with struggling through the year so far with the car and particularly with our Qualifying, so to have such a strong race, to be moving forwards, making ground, it was such a great feeling.

AS IT HAPPENED: Verstappen wins eventful Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix ahead of Norris and Piastri

“I would say for me, I don’t remember the last time I had a race like that where you’re moving forwards. I’m sure there was one maybe last year, but this one’s different obviously because I’m in the red car and I haven’t done that yet, so to finally have that connection, that synergy with the car today and progressing was a really great feeling.”

While the race looked to have marked a step forward in terms of the squad making positive changes to the SF-25, Hamilton was reluctant to get carried away by this but acknowledged that there are several good points for the team to reflect on.

Hamilton is hopeful that Ferrari can take positives from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend

“I don’t want to jinx it so, for sure, there’s lots of positives to take away from today and we had pace, so we really need to dissect and understand where and why,” the Briton said. “I did think we would make an improvement this weekend with something we’re trying to fix, and I think there’s more to come, but the set-up was really good.

“The car felt pretty mega set-up wise, and the strategists, the team did a fantastic job with strategy calls, with the pit stops, so overall mega job from Ferrari.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive Verstappen's breathtaking first-lap overtake on Piastri en route to stellar Imola victory

On the other side of the garage, Leclerc also put in a feisty drive to move up from P11 to P6, having just lost out on P5 during a battle with Williams’ Alex Albon on the final lap. The Monegasque was left disappointed by the result, though, after the timing of the Virtual Safety Car and full Safety Car phases failed to go in his favour.

“I was very frustrated with the Safety Car, especially because the first one was in completely the wrong place for my strategy, [then] the second one was horrible because I couldn’t take it because I had no tyres left, so it was just a frustrating day,” Leclerc conceded.