F1 legend Lewis Hamilton slams Ferrari critics after stunning victory at Chinese Grand Prix

Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton has hit back at his and Ferrari's critics after a stunning victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

Hamilton qualified on pole for Saturday's sprint race in China and went on to convert it into a victory, beating McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull rival Max Verstappen.

This came just days after Hamilton had several doubters following a dismal weekend at the Australian Grand Prix where he struggled in the wet and appeared to have difficulty communicating with his team over the radio.

However, the seven-time champion has now hit back at those who doubted him after just one race.

"I woke up feeling great today," Hamilton said in his post-race interview. "The first race was difficult. I really do feel a lot of people underestimated the steep climb it is to get into a new team, become acclimatized within the team, understanding and communication - all sorts of things.

"The amount of critics and people I heard, yapping along the way, clearly not understanding maybe because they never had the experience or were unaware.

"It felt great to come here and be more comfortable in the car because in Melbourne I didn't feel great in the car. From lap one this weekend we have been on it.

"The engineers and mechanics have done a great job to fine tune the car and it felt great. It's hard to look after the tyres but everyone was struggling."

Hamilton banishes early Ferrari woes

Much was made of Hamilton's grand prix debut with the team at the season-opening Australian GP, where he could only finish 10th after qualifying for the race down in eighth.

Hamilton's performance throughout the weekend mirrored much of his 2024 season, as he was outpaced by team-mate Charles Leclerc, and struggled to overtake midfield runners.

However, during the Chinese GP weekend, Hamilton has looked like the seven-time world champion of old, putting his Ferrari on pole for the sprint race, before converting that into his first-ever sprint race victory.

Ferrari clearly didn't have the pace to challenge the likes of McLaren, Mercedes or Red Bull in Australia, but Hamilton has proven that if he has the car, he can still challenge the sport's biggest stars for victories.

His comments after the race reflect how he has taken a little bit of time to get settled into his new team, and that critics were wrong to be discussing his and Ferrari's poor performance as if it was terminal at the first race of the season.

READ MORE: F1 Race Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2025 start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

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