Lewis Hamilton has compared the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to his sprint race victory in Shanghai. The seven-time world champion came from 12th on the grid to finish fourth in Imola.

"There are tons of positives," Hamilton explained. "The strategy was fantastic, they made great calls, and didn't put a foot wrong, the car felt like China when I was really aligned with the car - and then the only other time is today, like I really felt that synergy.

"The set-up was great, and we made an improvement in the race and unlocked our potential. If we had qualified higher, we would have been fighting for a podium, which I just did not think was possible.

"The whole thing was entertaining, obviously the beginning wasn't spectacular, but got a decent start and was squeezed and lost ground to the Mercedes [of Kimi Antonelli]. I was just sitting there waiting, and I had to be patient, but the strategy started to pan out, and the car came alive on the medium tyres.

"I've always loved when you are fighting from further back and coming through, that is how I started off as a kid at Rye House. It is such a better feeling than starting and finishing first, but definitely, it was a mega race and there are so many positives to take from it."