Lewis Hamilton posted his best result as a Ferrari driver to date in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix after he recovered from qualifying in 12th place to finish in fourth at Imola.
The 40-year-old is still yet to score a Grand Prix podium finish with the Scuderia since he left Mercedes ahead of the 2025 F1 season. But Hamilton gave the Tifosi some reasons to cheer on Sunday, as he rose through the order to threaten a possible rostrum in Ferrari’s backyard.
A late safety car to recover Italian wonder Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s stricken Mercedes offered Ferrari a chance to pit Hamilton for a new set of hard tyres. He used the fresh rubber to pass George Russell, Alex Albon and Charles Leclerc, yet lost out to Oscar Piastri for third by 1.4s.
Ferrari did not use the safety car on Lap 46/63 to pit Leclerc again, having already changed the 27-year-old’s tyres twice, so left him on the set of hards they fitted on L29. The worn-out rubber ensured Albon of Williams also overtook the Monegasque, to finish in fifth and sixth.
Ferrari endured their ‘cardinal problem’ with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Q2 exits at Imola
But while Hamilton recovered from 12th to fourth place and Leclerc from 11th to seventh in the Emilia Romagna GP, Ferrari’s double exit in Q2 at Imola highlighted their ‘cardinal’ issue. Christian Danner also thinks the Scuderia’s problems will continue to hold their drivers back.
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Danner told sport.de: “Ferrari tried to limit the damage and make amends with the Tifosi after their disastrous Saturday at their home race with Lewis Hamilton in fourth place and Charles Leclerc in sixth.
“The lap times achieved by Hamilton and Leclerc in clean air without traffic indicate the SF-25’s certainly capable performance.
“However, starting from grid positions like 11th and 12th, the Scuderia drivers won’t be able to exploit its potential very often. Ferrari’s cardinal problem is qualifying, but their race pace is certainly decent.”
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari largely owe his P4 in the Emilia Romagna GP to the early VSC
Timo Glock also felt qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola was a ‘disaster’ for Ferrari and it highlighted how the Scuderia struggle to extract the last few tenths of a second out of the SF-25, as Leclerc and Hamilton missed out on a Q3 spot by 0.083s and 0.244s to Albon.
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It is only once Hamilton and Leclerc get their fuel loads down to around 70% that their SF-25 comes alive in a race, as was the case at Imola. Hamilton starting on a set of hard compound Pirelli tyres meant he could run longer in his first stint, but he did not make a lot of progress.
Hamilton had shuffled up to P6 by the time the virtual safety car period to recover Haas star Esteban Ocon’s car started on L29 largely owing to rivals pitting earlier for fresh tyres. Yet he was still behind Albon, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Antonelli who were also still yet to pit.
The VSC period also allowed Hamilton to remain in P7 and jump ahead of Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Leclerc and Russell, who had all pitted earlier in the race in normal conditions. So, without the VSC, Hamilton’s eventual P4 finish at Imola may not have been on the cards.
