Lewis Hamilton admits it was a “weird” feeling to cruise past Charles Leclerc to claim victory in Bahrain.
The world champion was in the right place to capitalise as the Monegasque’s bid for a first Formula 1 win was derailed by an engine issue, leaving his Ferrari down on power on the straights.
That allowed Hamilton to quickly close the 12-second gap that Leclerc had built and go on to claim his first win of the season.
“Ultimately you want to pass someone because you’re quicker than them and it’s been a fight,” the Mercedes driver was quoted by ESPN.
“I went past Charles on the back straight and I raised my hand to him because there was nothing I could do, I didn’t have any problems.
“It feels weird and honestly you can’t believe your luck in that scenario but what can you do? You can’t deny yourself, you just have to keep doing what you do.
“I’ve been in positions like that before, where you’ve been in the lead and the car has stopped, so I know how it feels.”
Hamilton offered words of comfort to Leclerc post-race insisting this was just the start of what promises to a burgeoning career at Ferrari.
And the 21-year-old also tried to focus on the positives afterwards.
“It has been an unforgettable weekend for me, to start with qualifying because it was my first pole position and this was thanks to the amazing job of the team,” he told Motorsport Week.
“They have given us a great car during the weekend, and of that, they should be proud.
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“During the race, I think we were extremely strong and then issues happened and obviously it is a big disappointment not just for me but for the whole team to not finish where we deserved to be.
“We should be happy and proud of what we achieved. It’s still a podium and it’s my first podium in Formula 1 so in a way I feel I should enjoy it.
“It’s not the ideal race we wanted but we shall be happy about our third place despite the problems.”