Lewis Hamilton has won 103 Grand Prix but a third place in this season’s opening race in Bahrain will have given him as much satisfaction as many of those triumphs.
Against all the odds, the seven-times world champion stuck to his guns and took one of the most unlikely podium finishes of his career. It was a triumphant start to 2022 for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc taking victory ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz.
And Hamilton was booked for a predictable fifth placed finish until, first, Max Verstappen had to quit with mechanical failure and, then, his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, spun on the final lap when hit by a similar problem.
It was a nightmare start for Christian Horner’s team. If it had not been for Red Bull’s misfortune, Hamilton might be taking a different memory of this race with him to Saudi Arabia next weekend. For fifty laps, it looked like there just might be a thrilling new rivalry in town, one for the future of Formula One.
Two 24-year-olds - the world champion in a Red Bull, the man from Monaco in a Ferrari - going head-to-head for a long time to come. Verstappen versus Leclerc is certainly going to be the duel that sets the early stages of the season alight.
Twice within a couple of laps in the first half the race, Verstappen daringly dashed ahead of Leclerc. Twice, the Ferrari driver returned the favour. For a good while, it was exhilarating stuff, and then Verstappen started to suffer technical difficulties and started to swear into his radio.
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And when a late safety car was deployed after Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri caught fire, there was drama to come. Behind Leclerc, Verstappen ground to a virtual halt and then Perez, hassled by Hamilton, also succumbed, giving Lewis third and his Mercedes team-mate George Russell fourth place.
Hamilton said: "Firstly a big congratulations to Ferrari. I am so happy to see them doing well again. It is such a historic, epic team. It is so great to see Charles [Leclerc] and Carlos [Sainz] up there as well - I am so happy for them. It was such a difficult race.
"We have struggled throughout practice and this is the best result we could have got. We did the best we could and are grateful for these points.
"The guys are working hard back at the factory. It is not going to be a quick turnaround. I do feel like we have been the best most unified team for so long. We all know to keep our heads down and keep working as there is a long way to go."
Hamilton and Mercedes will not be fooled by the final standings. They know, for the majority of this race, they were way off the pace of the Red Bull and Ferrari. They know, as Hamilton had said, Red Bull and Ferrari are, pace-wise, in a league of their own.
But when it comes to determination, when it comes to desire, when it comes to getting the maximum out of a car and himself, Lewis Hamilton is in a league of his own. And that is why, against the odds, he stood on the Bahrain podium.
