Lewis Hamilton tasted glory in red for the first time at the Chinese GP sprint on Saturday. He dominated the 19-lap shootout, finishing P1 over six seconds clear of Oscar Piastri in second. Most present at the Shanghai International Circuit were jubilant, as was the Ferrari crew.
Hamilton too, had a big smile on his face. He dreamt of this from the moment he stepped foot in Maranello—presumably also since he was five years old, considering how driving for Ferrari was always a dream—and shared pictures of his victory on Instagram.
His close friend and 23-time tennis Grand Slam winner Serena Williams was one of the thousands of people who commented on Hamilton’s post, enthusiastic to see the Briton win for the Prancing Horse.
“Love you, see what happens when they let you be great… No more holding you back,” Williams wrote, which although heartwarming, further intensified rumors of a falling out between Hamilton and his former team Mercedes.
Serena Williams commented on Lewis Hamiltons Instagram post.
„See what happens when they let you be great“ pic.twitter.com/Bn7xQC6izX
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) March 22, 2025
The F1 community on X was happy to see Williams support the seven-time champion. However, they seemed to understand the underlying message she tried to convey. Mercedes was probably the reason behind Hamilton’s lack of silverware in recent years.
Speaks volumes, clear merc did something these last 2 years …
— Nath (@Nath1830430) March 22, 2025
After winning six titles with the Silver Arrows, Hamilton endured a difficult three-year spell between 2022 and 2024 which ultimately resulted in his Ferrari move. Multiple sources reported that there were tensions with boss Toto Wolff behind the scenes, resulting from disagreements on the technical side of things.
In an interview with Sean Gregory of SBNation a few months ago, Hamilton spoke about leaving Mercedes.
“You can’t stand still for too long. I needed to throw myself into something uncomfortable again,” Hamilton said.
“Honestly, I thought all my firsts were done. Your first car, your first crash, your first date, first day of school. The excitement I got by the idea of, ‘this my first time in the red suit, the first time in the Ferrari.’ Wow. Honestly, I’ve never been so excited.”
But there seems to be more than what meets the eye. Perhaps Hamilton confided in Serena something unpleasant about Mercedes that the rest of the F1 community doesn’t know.
In his final two seasons, Hamilton also appeared to be disconnected from the crew at Mercedes. Following his podium at the 2023 Singapore GP, no one from his team came over to congratulate him for an excruciatingly long period of time. It was the Ferrari mechanics and team principal Frederic Vasseur who approached him first.
Lewis Hamilton was left alone after the 2023 Singapore GP, where he finished on the podium. Ferrari’s team were the first to congratulated him.
Meanwhile, watch this same Mercedes team celebrate Russell’s P3 at the Canada GP as if they won the race.
I’ll never forget this day. pic.twitter.com/LiGneKcozw
— ً (@tsimiks) June 9, 2024
While Hamilton may not have paid much heed to this, his fans noticed it on the cameras. They didn’t like the sight of their favorite driver alone.
On the contrary, those at Ferrari seem excited about his presence. Even his welcome to Maranello was like a king. And now a sprint victory was celebrated with more passion than any of his last Grand Prix victories with Mercedes seemed to be.
Just imagine how special Hamilton’s first Grand Prix win for the Scuderia would be!
