Lewis Hamilton Slams Critics for ‘Uninformed Speculation’ After Securing First Ferrari Win in China Sprint.
Lewis Hamilton Hits Back at Critics for ‘Uneducated Guesses’ After First Ferrari Win in China Sprint
Lewis Hamilton put on a dominant performance in the Chinese Grand Prix Sprint, claiming his first win with Ferrari. The seven-time world champion, who had been heavily criticized following his underwhelming debut in Australia, felt the backlash was unjustified.
After struggling to 10th place in the wet conditions of Melbourne last weekend, Hamilton bounced back in China, securing pole position on Friday and then leading the 19-lap Sprint race to victory on Saturday. His move to Ferrari after 12 seasons with Mercedes had made him the focal point of attention, especially following his challenging race in Australia, which Hamilton later called a “disaster” in terms of his performance.
In an on-track interview after his win at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton reflected on the criticism he faced and expressed frustration with those who “yapped” without understanding the challenges of joining a new team. He said, “I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, acclimate, and understand the communication and all sorts of things.”
Hamilton continued, “The amount of critics I heard along the way, clearly not understanding, maybe because they’ve never had the experience or were just unaware. It felt great to come here and be more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I didn’t feel great in it. From lap one this weekend, we’ve been on it.”
Later, when asked if the criticism made his Sprint win more satisfying, Hamilton responded: “I’m not really talking back to them or anything like that. It’s just we live in such a strange time where people love to be negative at any opportunity, even with the smallest things. That’s the difficult time we’re living in.”
He added, “I see certain individuals—I don’t read the news much, but I see bits here and there—some people I’ve admired for years just talking out of turn, clearly making uneducated guesses about what’s going on. There’s a real lack of appreciation for how hard it is to move to a new team with a completely different car and setup. You don’t just jump in and it’s good.”
Hamilton also spoke about the long-term journey ahead with Ferrari, comparing his experience to that of former Ferrari drivers like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who adapted quickly to the team. “It’s true if you look at Seb and Fernando, they did a great job early on with the team. But to build long-term success takes time, and that’s what I’m trying to do,” he said.
Reflecting on his progress with Ferrari, he added, “I’m not trying to jump-start it or get ahead of myself. I’m just taking my time to build with this great team. There’s so much potential here.”
Despite facing challenges with car setup changes ahead of the main qualifying session, Hamilton qualified fifth for the Grand Prix, just 0.286s behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and one-tenth ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton’s win in China marks a significant step in his Ferrari journey, and with more learning and adaptation, he’s confident about the team’s potential moving forward.
“We Can’t Get Ahead of Ourselves”
Lewis Hamilton’s Sprint win in Shanghai was unexpected not just because of his earlier performance, but also due to McLaren’s strong form, which had seemed to put them comfortably ahead of their rivals.
Lando Norris claimed victory in Melbourne, and McLaren likely would’ve secured a one-two finish if not for Oscar Piastri’s spin in the rain. The McLaren duo were the clear favorites for Sprint pole, but Piastri qualified third, while Norris was down in sixth. Although Piastri fought his way up to second in the Sprint, Norris struggled, dropping three places early on and finishing eighth.
When asked if his Shanghai result gave him confidence that he and Ferrari could challenge McLaren for silverware this season, Hamilton urged caution.
He said: “We just came off a race where we finished 10th, so there are so many factors to consider. We can’t get ahead of ourselves based on just one result.”
“The car felt good today, and yes, I finished ahead of a McLaren and a Red Bull. But that doesn’t necessarily mean… look at qualifying—it’s extremely close. The key will be to avoid making mistakes. But we seem to be in a good place this weekend, which is encouraging.”
Hamilton continued, “I hope this continues, but again, we’ll need to see from track to track. Last week, we didn’t have that. I’m hoping we’ve learned from the difficulties of last week and applied those lessons to this week, as the car has been much better. If we can keep it that way, then yes, that will make me happy.”
