Lewis Hamilton clawed his way back from a minute behind the leaders to snatch a stunning P3 finish in Malaysia, wrapping up what he described as a “bittersweet” afternoon. It was a race that threw everything at the field right from the lights, starting with a weather delay due to thunderstorms rolling over Sepang.
Things went sideways before the race even properly began when the initial start procedure got suspended because drivers, including Hamilton, struggled just to keep their machines rolling on the formation lap. When the lights finally went out on a mixed track, the Briton lined up second on the grid after a strong performance in Qualifying but immediately rolled the dice by bolting soft slick tyres onto his Ferrari instead of intermediates.
I think we did a really good job yesterday. The engineers did a great job, the mechanics did a great job with changing and fixing the car, getting the car where it needed to be,
That gamble looked like a complete disaster instantly. As the circuit refused to dry at the expected speed, Hamilton tumbled 15 positions down the order to P17, sitting a full minute adrift of the leaders by the end of the first lap. The Scuderia even suggested a change, but the seven-time World Champion made the call from the cockpit to stay out on the softs—a wild decision that paid off as he charged through the traffic to finish third behind Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
Reflecting on the chaos, Hamilton admitted his mixed emotions. “I think it’s bittersweet,” he said. “We had an opportunity and ultimately didn’t maximise it. I had a tough [time] at the beginning, but after the race got going and I managed to keep it on track — which, I’m telling you, was so, so hard. I didn’t think that I’d be able to get back to third place, so I’m very, very grateful for that and very happy with it.”
Watching the pack pull away at the start had him convinced his afternoon was done. “Obviously we had the wrong call in the beginning, which was so difficult and I could see everyone just pulling away,” he added. “I could see on the screen it was a minute down, and I thought that was kind of race over for us. But I just kept my head down, the guys did a great job with the pit stops – obviously lots of tyre changes and lots of chasing.”
Despite feeling like it was a missed win, the weekend marked a clear step forward for the driver in red. He noted that the machine felt strong throughout the race and praised the crew for their work.
“I think we did a really good job yesterday. The engineers did a great job, the mechanics did a great job with changing and fixing the car, getting the car where it needed to be,” he told media. “And then I think the car felt good in the race. We often talk about execution, I think [Saturday] we executed really well, and I think we’ll go back to the drawing board and look and see how we could have done better today, and we’ll try and take this performance onto next week.”
