Lewis Hamilton fired back at his “yapping” critics after he delivered the first win of his Ferrari career in dominant fashion in today’s sprint race in China.
Hamilton said he was gobsmacked to land his maiden pole position in Ferrari colours in only his second appearance for the Italian giants following his blockbuster transfer from Mercedes.
And Hamilton, 40, rolled back the years to beat one-time rival Max Verstappen to the opening corner in Shanghai before leading every lap to kick-start his new life in red with an emphatic win.
The triumph, albeit only in the sprint race which takes place before Sunday’s main event, was all the sweeter for Hamilton after he courted criticism for his debut in Australia a week ago.
There, Hamilton was out-qualified by team-mate Charles Leclerc. He started eighth before dropping two places to 10th. Sky Sports broadcaster and former driver, Martin Brundle, described Hamilton’s debut as “disappointing by any metric”.
However, after landing the first sprint win of his career in 19 attempts, Hamilton said: “I really do feel as though a lot of people underestimated the steep climb of joining a new team.
“The amount of critics and people I’ve heard yapping along the way, who have just clearly not understood how long it takes to acclimatise. Maybe because they never had the experience or are just unaware?
“We live in such a strange time in the world. People just love to be negative at any opportunity, even with the smallest things, they’ll just be negative about it.
“And I see certain individuals, people that I’ve admired for years, just talking out of turn. Clearly some of them are really just making an uneducated guess about what is going on, with just a real lack of appreciation.
“You don’t just jump into a new team and it’s good. To build long-term success takes time, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Hamilton crossed the line 6.8 seconds clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who moved ahead of Verstappen with three laps remaining. Lando Norris, who won in Australia last weekend, started sixth and finished eighth after he lost three places on the first lap.
The victory for Hamilton will raise expectations he could yet be a serious contender for a record eighth world championship.
However, he continued: “I don’t feel the pressure. I know the tifosi, I know the fans, I know the team wants to win and I know it means everything to them. But Rome wasn’t built in a day.
“We have to take it one step at a time. And we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We’ve got to continue to push, we’ve got to be diligent and just remain focused, and stay calm. And remaining calm is the most important thing because these moments can get us all excited.
“But we’ll be back at our desks after this and focused on qualifying this afternoon. And you know, there is a long, long way to go. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
