Untelevised team radio footage from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has uncovered the moment Lewis Hamilton told Ferrari “we’ll be winning” if the team can improve their qualifying performances.

Hamilton secured his best result as a Ferrari driver in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna GP, storming to fourth place with team-mate Charles Leclerc in sixth.

Untelevised Lewis Hamilton team radio emerges after best Ferrari result

It came just 24 hours after both Ferraris failed to make Q3 at their first home race of the F1 2025 season, with Leclerc and Hamilton lining up 11th and 12th on the grid respectively.

Hamilton told media including PlanetF1.com on Saturday that he was “devastated” at failing to qualify in the top 10 in front of the tifosi, Ferrari’s loyal fans.

Hamilton overtook Leclerc and Williams’ Alex Albon in quick succession with four laps remaining to secure fourth place, surpassing his previous best result of the season (fifth) in Bahrain last month.

Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

And the seven-time World Champion could not contain his joy at the chequered flag at Imola, revealing that the SF-25 car felt “great” on race day.

Hamilton said: “Thanks so much, mate. Woo! What a great race, guys. Fantastic stops, strategy.

“The car felt great today. I’m so grateful, so proud. Grazie tutti. And the Tifosi, that was for them.

“Let’s keep pushing. If we get that qualifying better and we can race like that, then we’ll be winning.”

Hamilton’s race engineer, Riccardo Adami, who previously worked with the seven-time World Champion’s predecessors Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel, was impressed by the driver’s moves during the climb to fourth.

Adami laughed: “Those overtakes were explosive!”

Hamilton responded: “Yeah, pushing mate. Pushing.”

More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com

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Hamilton is yet to secure a podium finish for Ferrari despite finishing in the top three at both sprint races held so far in F1 2025.

The 40-year-old took his first ‘win’ in Ferrari colours by converting pole into victory at the Chinese GP sprint race in March before both Ferraris were disqualified for separate offences following the main race in Shanghai.

Hamilton also finished third in the rain-affected sprint race in Miami last month.

Hamilton’s fourth place finish at Imola sees him move past Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli into sixth place in the F1 2025 Drivers’ standings, eight points adrift of fifth-place Leclerc.

Ferrari remain fourth in the Constructors’ Championship with the Scuderia trailing Red Bull by 17 points.

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