Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc would have known how important Sunday’s race at Imola was after a disastrous qualifying session the day before.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has previously been a happy hunting ground for Ferrari in their previous guise at the San Marino Grand Prix.
Before the circuit returned to the F1 calendar in 2020, Michael Schumacher was the most recent winner of the race.
However, that was never a realistic goal for Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc after they were both eliminated from qualifying in Q2.
Instead, Hamilton was placed on the alternative strategy by the Scuderia and immediately lost a position to Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
| RANK | DRIVER | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 25 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 18 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 15 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 12 |
| 5 | Alex Albon | Williams | 10 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 8 |
| 7 | George Russell | Mercedes | 6 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 4 |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 2 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | 1 |
The major events that happened in the race played perfectly into Hamilton’s hands.
Fans were impressed with Fernando Alonso at Imola, but not before the Spaniard claimed he was the ‘unluckiest’ driver in the world after failing to convert his P5 start into points after the awful timing of the VSC and safety car.
Hamilton, on the other hand, was able to coincide his pit stops with when Esteban Ocon and Antonelli broke down, earning him an impressive fourth-place finish.
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Damon Hill lauds Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola
Former F1 world champion Damon Hill took to social media to react to the seventh race of the season.
On Instagram, Hill reacted to a post declaring Max Verstappen Sunday’s winner and taking his second victory of the season and said: “Yes he is. Great fight back as ever.”
A post that shared that McLaren had secured a double podium at Imola on Instagram led to Hill saying: “Good (but not what they’d hoped for)”
Finally, Hill reacted on Instagram to Hamilton securing his best Grand Prix result as a Ferrari driver thus far and simply said: “Looked very racy today.”
Hamilton pulled off some brilliant overtaking moves throughout the race to score 12 points and leapfrog Antonelli in the drivers’ championship.
He took inspiration from Verstappen by nailing how to pass his rivals around the outside of the first corner, using the DRS to his full advantage.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Lewis Hamilton sends his most positive message to Ferrari yet after Imola result
Hamilton and Leclerc have sent mixed messages in their recent interviews about Ferrari’s chances this season based on previous results.
The seven-time world champion has become a master of the Sprint Race, winning in China and finishing third in Miami, but the SF-25 has never looked truly competitive over one lap, which has seriously hampered their chances.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
279 |
| 2 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
147 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
131 |
| 4 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
114 |
| 5 |
Williams F1 Team |
51 |
| 6 |
Haas F1 Team |
20 |
| 7 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
14 |
| 8 |
Racing Bulls |
10 |
| 9 |
Alpine F1 Team |
7 |
| 10 |
Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber |
6 |
Hamilton told Ferrari what they needed to do to start winning on the team radio at the end of the race, but praised the Scuderia’s strategy, something that has been brought into question already this season.
Jacques Villeneuve even compared Hamilton to Schumacher before the race, highlighting how hard he’s working to ingratiate himself within the team.
Hill was critical of Ferrari during qualifying at Imola, but it’s good for Formula 1 as a sport if Fred Vasseur’s team manage to find a solution to the issues they’ve been facing.
