Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton said the Chinese Grand Prix was 'one of the most enjoyable F1 races ever' as he snared his first grand prix podium for the Scuderia.
Hamilton won China's sprint race from pole last year, but that was a rare highlight in a tough debut campaign as he struggled to gel with his scarlet machinery.
But following a short winter to recharge his batteries, the seven-time world champion looks revitalised as he has found F1's new-for-2026 cars much more to his liking, qualifying ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc in China before going on to take his first proper grand prix podium for the Maranello squad.
After battling Leclerc and both Mercedes cars wheel-to-wheel for the majority of the race, Hamilton claimed the Chinese Grand Prix had been one of the most entertaining races he has been a part of, while also saluting his Mercedes successor Kimi Antonelli.
"Well, firstly I have to say a huge congratulations to Kimi. I'm so so happy for you, buddy, and I'm so honoured to be able to share this moment with him," Hamilton said. "He took my seat obviously at this great team, so big congratulations to Mercedes.
"We've got a lot of work to do to try and keep up but I had so much fun. It's one of the most enjoyable races that I've had in a long, long time, if ever. The fact that the cars are the way they are this year and that battle with Charles at the end was awesome, great wheel-to-wheel battle, very fair and just what we want.
"I think there was one moment we did touch, but it was just a kiss so it's okay. But that's what it's about. It's about tough racing."
Hamilton briefly catapulted into the lead as the Ferrari's superior starts again proved a valuable advantage. But as the race went on, Mercedes' real advantage emerged, with the Ferraris having taken too much life out of their tyres in their desperate battle to take the fight to Mercedes, which they paid the price for later on.
"They're really pulling ahead at the moment," he added. "I've got to say a huge thank you to everyone at Ferrari, everyone back at Maranello for getting us into this position. I know it's not exactly where we want to be. We want to be up front where these guys are, but we've got a great platform to work off and we've just got to go literally full gas."
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