Lewis in wonderland: Hamilton claims his first Ferrari win at Barcelona Grand Prix

Montmeló, Spain (AFP) — Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari on Sunday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix, ending championship leader Kimi Antonelli’s five-race winning streak.

The seven-time world champion finished ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris, while Antonelli was forced to abandon in the final stages because of a technical problem.

Hamilton, 41, cut down Antonelli’s title lead to 41 points by triumphing on a Sunday nearly two years after he last won a race.

“It’s not over, that’s for sure,” said Hamilton, also second in Monaco last weekend, of the championship race.

Mercedes polesitter Russell came in 19 seconds behind Hamilton, with Norris completing an all-British podium, the first since the 1968 United States Grand Prix.

“You have helped me so much to achieve this dream, I cannot thank you enough,” said Hamilton over team radio, after becoming the first driver for a team other than Mercedes to win a race this season.

“To the fans, thank you for reminding me who I am. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Russell, pre-season favorite for the championship, arrived in Barcelona bemoaning bad luck for his recent struggles, but after team-mate Antonelli edged in front of him late on, he had some good fortune to cut the gap on the teenager to 50 points after the Italian abandoned.

“Good to be back on the podium and have a clean race, but Ferrari were mighty today, so we need to keep pushing,” Russell said.

“The last stints were difficult, but it’s good to be back here. The pace today was insane from Lewis; they are coming, I think.”

With track temperatures up at 51 degrees Celsius, Hamilton opted for a three-pit-stop strategy, and it worked to perfection, with the third of those fortuitously coming while the virtual safety car was deployed.

Ferrari’s heavily upgraded car may well have been fast enough for Hamilton to triumph anyway, as he recorded the 106th victory of his career.

“(All of them are) special in their own way, but this one is something else,” Hamilton said.

“When I was young, I watched Ferrari have all their success on TV. I always wondered what it would feel like — and it’s come.”

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came in fourth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar in the other Red Bull.

Russell got off to the perfect start from pole, holding off Hamilton on softs, with the Ferrari driver cutting off Antonelli.

Hadjar, who started in position six, was slow off the line and overtaken by eight cars.

Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, admitted he was “ashamed” by his crash in qualifying, which left him starting in 10th but expertly weaved his way up to sixth, although he was later forced to retire.

Early stop

Hamilton took an early pit stop on lap 12 to swap his softs for hards, with Mercedes responding on the following lap with hards for Russell.

Russell was worried his stop “exposed” him to Antonelli but retook the lead from Hamilton with his teenage team-mate back in third after his own stop to bolt on the hards.

With Hamilton 2.3 seconds behind Russell, he said, “We are on Plan C” over team radio.

The seven-time champion pitted for the second time on the 28th lap, with Mercedes deciding not to do the same because of the threat of 2025 champion Norris.

Antonelli moved right behind Russell, who was forced to fend off his teammate.

Russell was called in for fresh hards before Antonelli followed suit, allowing Hamilton into the lead, with Ferrari telling the Briton this was the “critical time” for his race.

Home favorite Alonso, in what he said was probably his final appearance in Barcelona, which is not in the calendar next year, was forced to retire because of a suspected battery issue.