Lewis Hamilton is back on the top step of the podium for the first time since last years' Bahrain GP, and kicks off the new season with a victory. It wasn't an easy accomplishment, as pole sitter Max Verstappen tried to secure the lead a few laps before the end of the race, but, after the Dutchman ran wide at Turn 4, he didn't manage to overtake Hamilton again.

The English driver was extremely satisfied with both his and team's performance, and impressed with Red Bull's pace, as he said to Jenson Button just after the race: "Wow, what a difficult race that was! Definitely stopping early, we knew it was going to be difficult but we had to cover Max. They've had an amazing performance all weekend. So it would take something really special."

He went on to explain the struggle of his final laps, having to defend his position from Verstappen with more used tyres while managing them:"We stopped for that last stint and were trying to find the right balance between not pushing too much and having tyres that were alive the end of the race. It was difficult and Max was all over me right at the end, but we just about managed to hold him off."

Hamilton was elated with the final result and pleased with Mercedes's hard work on the car, who hadn't impressed during the pre-season Bahrain testing: "It was one of the hardest races I've had for a while, so I'm really grateful for it. Massively thankful to the men and women back at the factory and the guys, and here also, for continuously pushing the boundaries and never giving up even if we did feel we were behind."

The World Champion considers his victory even sweeter because he had thought the gap with Red Bull to be much larger: "It was so hard in the car today but what a great event, and this is a really good start for us. Through testing we thought that we were going to be six to eight tenths behind. So the work that's going on the last week has been spectacular. And I'm just so proud to see everyone's so hyped for today as well."

During the post race press conference Hamilton highlighted the troubles he encountered during his race, and especially the bad feelings he was getting towards the ending, going so far as to, jokingly, saying:"It was horrifying!".

He added on a more serious note:"It wasn't great. I was struggling at the end with the rear end of my car, my rear tyres had gone off. I think [they were] maybe eight laps older or something like that to Max's tyres. So, I knew he was going to catch me with 10 laps to go and I was like thinking 'it's going to be almost impossible to hold him behind"

Then the Turn 4 mistake happened, and the Mercedes driver managed to keep the lead of the race:"Well, he was right behind me, so then stuck in my wake, and it was difficult for him in certain places to get close and he ended up wide in some places, which gave me a little bit of an edge. It's a difficult track to follow."

Hamilton "loved" every minute of his battle for the first place with Verstappen, and the fact that his car wasn't up to speed with the Red Bull challenger makes his achievement even more gratificating :"Every minute of the weekend I've loved, knowing as a team that we were behind in performance – these guys [Red Bull] have done a better job so far. And so, for us to come away with this result given the fact that we weren't the fastest this weekend is a real result."

The British driver stated also that he didn't believe he could actually win the race, sharing the uncertainty with his team:"Bono [Peter Bonnington, Hamilton's race engineer] just kept telling me how many laps were left! He was like 'three laps, two laps' and I'm like 'Bono, I can count! I've got it!. He's just nervous, but I'm grateful for Bono and his patience with me. I think it was really the last lap – there was a point, once I got through Turn 4 I knew that I was in a good position. But then oversteer out of Turn 10, nervousness out of 11, a snap oversteer in 13, which is a really bad one. And I was thinking 'that's it, he's got me now'. But I think he had the same thing."

I love the challenge. I love this sport. What a way to start the season 🙌🏾 today is a reminder that through harnessing and channeling our collective power, we can accomplish great things. It’s great to be back 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bazzkXTsag

— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 28, 2021

One to remember. 🏆💪 pic.twitter.com/hR46K9IpmO

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 28, 2021