The first win for the seven-time world champion Italian manufacturer is also their first F1 victory in almost two years.
Published June 14, 2026
Former F1 champion Lewis Hamilton won his first race as part of the legendary Ferrari team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in Spain on Sunday.
It was a year of rebirth for Hamilton, with victory coming in his 31st race for Ferrari. The 41-year-old is second in the driver standings, trailing teenager Kimi Antonelli, who was aiming for a sixth consecutive win with the Mercedes team.
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Hamilton finished sixth in the 2025 rankings, well behind season winner Lando Norris of McLaren. He has not been on top of the podium since July 2024, when he won the Belgian Grand Prix as a Mercedes driver.
“I started last year with a dream, but in my time last year it seemed almost impossible,” Hamilton said immediately after the race. “But we never gave up hope. The team just kept lifting me up. We made so many changes and improvements. On top of that, I have the best fan base a sportsman could ask for. Thank you. Thank you everyone.”
Hamilton executed the team’s plan perfectly at Barcelona. They adopted a three-stop strategy, employing the tires they thought would be most efficient in the hot sun, and also had the help of free stops under the virtual safety car. According to F1, the temperature on the track at the start of the race was over 122 degrees.
Russell held on to his early lead, with Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and four-time champion Max Verstappen all maintaining their starting positions.
On lap 12, the tires started to affect performance and all the leaders asked for tire changes. On lap 23, Ferrari asked Hamilton to change tires again, and Hamilton narrowed his lead thanks to a fresh set.
Hamilton took a 16 second lead as the other drivers pitted again.
After the virtual safety car was deployed, Hamilton received another call from Ferrari with 24 laps remaining. By the time he returned to the circuit, his lead over Russell was less than three seconds, but Hamilton had the advantage of fresh hard tires.
With five laps to go, Antonelli overtook Russell for second place, but a broken end plate forced him to retire, ending his winning streak.
Hamilton finished 19.5 seconds ahead of Russell, with Norris third. The trio achieved the first all-British podium since 1968.
Russell said after the race that Ferrari was becoming a threat to other teams thanks to significant improvements.
“First of all, a huge congratulations to[Hamilton]because I know how hard he works. We spent many years together at Mercedes, so it’s really nice to see him return to the Lewis that I remember growing up watching F1,” he said.
“But yeah, it was a tough day. It was good to be back on the podium and have a slightly cleaner race for me. Ferrari were very impressive today. We need to keep pushing.”
