Hamilton earns first Ferrari win with bold 3-stop strategy; Russell P2 as Antonelli suffers late race DNF; Norris inherits P3
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton earned his first win for Scuderia Ferrari with a superb drive and perfect strategy calls from the pit will at Sunday’s Grand Prix of Barcelona-Catalunya. On a hot and sunny day in the northeast of Spain, it was a blast from the past when Hamilton, who qualified P2 just behind Mercedes’ George Russell and ahead of the second Silver Arrow of points leader Kimi Antonelli, drove a perfect opening stint and then made the bold decision to be the first of the top contenders to pit, committing Ferrari and Lewis to a three-stop strategy at this high-deg track. Mercedes, meanwhile, struck with the more conventional two-stopper, but in the end more stops for fresher Pirelli rubber proved superior to running longer and stopping one less time. Hamilton also benefitted greatly from a perfectly timed Virtual Safety Car just about two-thirds of the way through this 66-lap contest that enabled hime to take his third and final stop with his closest competitors all running 30% under their normal speeds. Sir Lewis probably would still have stayed out in front of the pursuing Mercs but this little stroke of luck really tied up the eventual victory with a neat bow. Hamilton steered the car home cleanly and quickly for the final twenty-four laps, crossing the line nearly twenty seconds to the good of Russell and making the dreams of the tifosi — and his own — come true after in his second year with Ferrari.
“Forza Ferrari!”
Listen to Lewis react to his maiden win for the team 🥹#F1 #BarcelonaGP pic.twitter.com/uaSwEaU0BZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 14, 2026
Top 10 finishers of the Barcelona-Catalunya GP:
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM | RACE TIME | LAPS | PITS | FASTEST LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Ferrari | 1:32:28.105 | 66 | 3 | 1:20.122 (44) |
| 2 |
|
Mercedes | +19.561 | 66 | 2 | — |
| 3 |
|
McLaren | +23.719 | 66 | 2 | — |
| 4 |
|
Red Bull | +40.497 | 66 | 3 | — |
| 5 |
|
McLaren | +58.661 | 66 | 2 | — |
| 6 |
|
Red Bull | +1 Lap | 65 | 3 | — |
| 7 |
|
Alpine | +1 Lap | 65 | 2 | — |
| 8 |
|
Racing Bulls | +1 Lap | 65 | 2 | — |
| 9 |
|
Racing Bulls | +1 Lap | 65 | 2 | — |
| 10 |
|
Alpine | +1 Lap | 65 | 2 | —
|
Complete race results available via Formula1.com.
The next race is in a fortnight, as the teams head to Austria and the fast & fierce Red Bull Ring. Can Ferrari keep closing the gap to mighty Mercedes and can Antonelli rebound after his first significant setback in his up til now magical season? Hope top see you then to find out how it all shakes out!