Hamilton takes first Ferrari win at Barcelona-Catalunya

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first Formula One victory for Ferrari on Sunday, winning the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in Spain, Reuters reported. The result ended Hamilton’s wait for a race win since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and kept him second in the drivers’ standings behind Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli.

Reuters reported that the former Formula One champion won in his 31st race with Ferrari. Hamilton, 41, joined the team after a 2025 season in which he finished sixth in the standings, well behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, who won that year’s title.

Hamilton said after the race that the move to Ferrari had once looked out of reach. “I started out with a dream last year, which seemed almost impossible during my time last year,” he said. “But we never gave up hope. The team just continued to lift me up. We made so many changes and so many improvements. On top of that, I’ve got the greatest fanbase a sportsman could ever ask for. Thank you. Thank you to everybody.”

Ferrari strategy pays off

Reuters reported that Ferrari used a three-stop plan and selected tyres the team believed would work best in extreme heat. Formula One said the track temperature was above 50C at the start of the race.

George Russell led early, with Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and four-time season champion Max Verstappen holding their starting positions behind him, according to Reuters. The leading drivers stopped for tyres on Lap 12 as performance began to drop.

Ferrari brought Hamilton in again on Lap 23, giving him fresher tyres and a chance to close on the front. As rivals made further stops, Reuters reported, Hamilton opened a 16-second lead.

A Virtual Safety Car later gave Ferrari another chance to stop Hamilton without losing as much time. With 24 laps remaining, the team called him in again; he returned to the track less than three seconds ahead of Russell, but with fresh hard tyres, Reuters reported.

All-British podium

Antonelli passed Russell for second place with five laps left, but Reuters reported that a broken end plate forced him to retire. The retirement also ended Antonelli’s bid for a sixth straight Mercedes victory.

Hamilton finished 19.5 seconds ahead of Russell, with Norris in third. Reuters reported that the result produced the first all-British Formula One podium since 1968.

Russell praised Hamilton after the race and said Ferrari had shown strong pace. “Firstly, huge congrats to (Hamilton) because I know how hard he works. We spent a lot of years together at Mercedes, so I’m really pleased to see him back to the Lewis I remember when I was growing up watching Formula 1,” Russell said, according to Reuters.

Russell added that his own race had been clean and said other teams would need to respond to Ferrari’s progress. “Ferrari were mighty impressive today and we need to keep on pushing,” he said.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.