Lewis Hamilton claimed his first race victory for Ferrari after an aggressive strategy paid off at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as championship leader Kimi Antonelli dramatically retired late on.
Hamilton drove superbly in a race with high tire wear to take his first Grand Prix victory since his last triumph for Mercedes in July 2024, with George Russell second from Lando Norris in the first all-British podium since 1968.
Mercedes had no answer for Hamilton as the Ferrari driver took advantage of the lucky timing of a mid-race Virtual Safety Car and used his tire prowess to become the seventh oldest race winner in F1 history at 41.
Smart decision-making by Ferrari to effectively undercut Russell at the second round of pit stops, combined with Hamilton’s driving, created the opportunity to win and the seven-time world champion took it by running away in the latter part of the Grand Prix on fresher tyres.
An emotional Hamilton said on the radio: “You’ve helped me achieve this dream and I can’t thank you enough. Thank you to everyone who pushed back so hard at home.
“I’m so proud of you. To my family, I love you. To my fans, thank you for continuing to remind me of who I am. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
Hamilton’s 106th career F1 victory means he is 41 points behind Antonelli in the drivers’ championship after the Mercedes driver retired with four laps to go when his car shut down while running in second place.
Antonelli had just overtaken teammate Russell after a lopsided battle, but the latter closes his championship deficit to 50 points.
Norris, who like Russell has failed to score points at the last two Grands Prix, claimed his second podium of the season as McLaren produced a more competitive performance than the last two rounds.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kimi Antonelli passes Mercedes teammate George Russell before retiring from the race with engine failure
Charles Leclerc suffered a late steering problem on his way to a top five result as his disappointing run of form continued.
Max Verstappen finished 40 seconds behind Hamilton on his way to fourth with Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in sixth, behind McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth.
Alpine enjoyed their third double points result of the season with Pierre Gasly in seventh and Franco Colapinto in eighth, while Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad also scored points for the second consecutive weekend in ninth and 10th.
More to follow…
Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on 26-28 June, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime