Lewis Hamilton claps back at F1 critics in brutal Chinese Grand Prix interview

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton claps back at F1 critics in brutal Chinese Grand Prix interview

Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 22 March 2025 12:57

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Lewis Hamilton has slammed his critics following a superb sprint race victory at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion managed to achieve his first race win of any kind for the Ferrari team in just his second race weekend with the Maranello outfit, following his transfer at the start of 2025.

He led the sprint race from start to finish, keeping old enemy Max Verstappen and McLaren star Oscar Piastri behind him to take maximum points, and he even had a message for his 'yapping critics' after the race.

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"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 acclimatised 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."

Lewis Hamilton managed to beat old enemy Max Verstappen

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 Ferrari, 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.

Sprint Results: Lewis Hamilton fights off Max Verstappen for epic Ferrari victory at Chinese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Ferrari McLaren Oscar Piastri Chinese Grand Prix