Lewis Hamilton described his maiden podium with Ferrari at the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix as one of the hardest of his career while claiming he is 'back to his best' mentally and physically. The seven-time world champion finished third at Shanghai behind dominant Mercedes drivers, outqualifying teammate Charles Leclerc, after 26 grand prix starts with the Scuderia—the longest wait for a first podium in team history. Sitting fourth in the drivers' standings, he credited intense winter training, team support, and family for the emotional milestone.
Hamilton secured third place at Shanghai International Circuit, where he had won the sprint race the previous year, prevailing in an on-track battle with Leclerc after outqualifying him in both sessions. This followed a challenging 2025 debut season with Ferrari, marked by new regulations, late arrival in Maranello (first day January 20), limited car development input, and no grand prix podiums despite the sprint success.
"I definitely feel like I’m back to my best, both mentally and physically, yes," the 41-year-old Briton told reporters. "I started this voyage and this dream of moving to Ferrari and being on the top step with them, and this podium has taken longer than I had hoped."
He attributed his resurgence to the heaviest winter training of his career, better integration as the second-season driver more involved from the SF-26 project's outset, and a new provisional race engineer, Carlo Santi, who previously worked with Kimi Raikkonen—boosting squad morale.
"Training this winter has been the heaviest and the most intense that I’ve ever had, and that probably comes hand in hand with being older," Hamilton said. "I do think there’s more to come. I think I can still eke out more performance from this car."
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur noted Hamilton's growing involvement: "Honestly, I think it's always much easier the second [season], because you are part of the project from the beginning. Step by step, we have to do marginal gains, because it's like this that we’ll close the gap."
Emotionally, Hamilton called it 'one of the hardest [podiums] I have earned,' saying he had 'never had to work so hard to get a podium.' Bringing his mother to China made it 'incredibly special,' evoking nostalgia racing in Ferrari red alongside familiar figures like his longtime engineer Bono, Kimi (celebrating his first win), and teammate George Russell. Despite last season's gutting disappointments returning to the garage without results, he praised the team's unwavering positivity.
