Hamilton goes from devastated to delighted at Imola

IMOLA, Italy - Lewis Hamilton was buzzing after his first Formula One race in Italy for Ferrari went from Saturday devastation to Sunday delight.

Ferraris worst qualifying performance in seven races this season, with Charles Leclerc 11th and Hamilton 12th, was branded a disaster by the Italian media but the fans were cheering again a day later at Imola.

Hamilton finished a seasons best fourth while Leclerc was an unhappy sixth, still a considerable improvement on where he started.

It was the first time since he joined from Mercedes in January that seven-times world champion Hamilton had beaten his teammate at Ferrari, apart from winning the sprint race in Shanghai.

China was really great but I would say this one was better, the Briton told reporters. Ive always loved when youre fighting from further back and coming through. Thats how I started off as a kid.

Its such a better feeling than starting first and finishing first. Definitely an absolutely mega race and so many positives to take from it...theres tonnes of positives to take from today.

Hamilton said Ferrari got the strategy right and it was the first time he had felt aligned with the car since China.

I think we made a bit of an improvement in our performance for the race. Weve just got to unlock the potential in qualifying, he added.

If we had qualified better, we would have been fighting for a podium which is something we didnt think would be possible.

Hamilton lost out at the start to Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli, the 18-year-old who took his vacated seat at Mercedes, but bided his time on the hard tyres until switching to the mediums when the car came alive.

The Briton has plenty of experience of his home fans at Silverstone but recognised that