Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory as a Ferrari driver at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday, ending an 18-month wait and delivering the Maranello marque its 249th Formula 1 win. It is Hamilton’s 106th career victory, and it came at the very circuit where Michael Schumacher took his first win in red.
George Russell finished second for Mercedes, with Lando Norris third for McLaren. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli retired late while running second, handing Hamilton the breathing room he needed to close out the win. Charles Leclerc, who had fought his way through the field from 10th on the grid, was also forced to retire with four laps remaining — a hydraulic issue ending what had been a strong recovery drive.
How it unfolded
Hamilton started from the front row on used Soft tyres and settled into second place behind Russell. Leclerc, starting tenth on new Mediums, was up to seventh by the end of lap one. Ferrari’s strategy across three pit stops was aggressive but precise, and the defining moment came on lap 40 when Fernando Alonso stopped on track, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton made his final pit stop in effectively half the usual time while keeping the lead, emerging with fresher tyres than anyone around him. From there, nobody could live with his pace.
Leclerc had been making his case for a points finish, breaking into the top six before the hydraulic failure ended his afternoon. Antonelli’s retirement in the closing laps — the championship leader dropping out while running second — completed a damaging finale for those chasing Hamilton.
The reaction
“This is an incredibly special moment,” Hamilton said. “Winning my first race with Ferrari is something I’ve dreamt about since I was a child, and to finally achieve it feels incredible. There were moments last year when this moment felt almost impossible, but I’m so grateful to Fred for believing in me and everyone there for making me feel so at home. Ferrari has the greatest fans in the world and seeing their passion, their energy and their support makes this victory even more meaningful. This is a day I’ll never forget, and I hope it’s the first of many wins that we can celebrate together.”
Leclerc was measured in defeat. “There was an issue on my car towards the end of the race, and unfortunately, I had to retire early. Our team should be proud of the upgrades we brought to the car, which ramped up our performance to this level. Congratulations to Lewis for his first win with the team, he did a great job this weekend and put it all together today.”
Team principal Frédéric Vasseur pointed to the broader significance of a result that marks Ferrari’s sixth podium in seven races this season. “The past year and a half has been quite difficult, with plenty of ups and downs, so to win today is a huge push for us. From lap 1, we knew tyre management would be the key and in that respect Lewis did a fantastic job all race long. He was in control of the situation, pushing when we asked him to. Our strategy was aggressive but that is what you can afford to do when you have the pace for the win.”
Formula 1 resumes on 28th June at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg.
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Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre