Hamilton wins the Barcelona Grand Prix in a Ferrari and becomes the driver with the most wins at Montmeló

Almost two years after his last win at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton secured his first victory with Ferrari at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, ending a 686-day drought and sealing his seventh win at Montmeló – a record that saw him overtake Michael Schumacher.

The race got underway with George Russell on pole, but Ferrari’s strategy — three pit stops compared to Mercedes’ two — allowed Hamilton to execute a decisive undercut on lap 12. The deployment of a Virtual Safety Car, triggered by Fernando Alonso’s retirement, reduced his pit stop time and sent the Briton back onto the track ahead of the two Mercedes, from where he controlled the pace on hard tyres.

The outcome became tense in the final laps. Kimi Antonelli, the clear championship leader and running second in the race, suffered a mechanical failure with just three laps to go. His retirement shook up the World Championship: Hamilton closed the gap by 25 points and Russell also reduced his deficit, leaving the standings much tighter. Antonelli’s lead dropped from 66 to 41 points.

The result produced a historic podium: Hamilton, Russell and Lando Norris took the top three places, something that had not happened since 1968, when three British drivers last shared a podium in Formula 1. The milestone underlined British dominance at Montmeló and added a memorable chapter to the season.

In contrast, Charles Leclerc – the British driver’s team-mate – was hampered by a heavy crash in qualifying (Q3). He lost control of his car at Turn 4 and ended up crashing into the barrier, bringing out the red flag. Once the race was underway, he was forced to retire due to a problem with the power steering with just a few laps to go.

For his part, Hamilton, visibly moved, thanked the team for their hard work and celebrated his first victory with Ferrari, a goal he had been chasing since joining the team. For the team, it has been a weekend marked by positive feelings.

Final clasification

This was the final result of the Barcelona Gran Prix:

Posición	Piloto	País	Equipo	Time
1	Lewis Hamilton		Ferrari	+1:32:28:205s
2	George Russell		Mercerdes	+19.561s
3	Lando Norris		McLaren	+23.719s
4	Max Verstappen		Red Bull Racing	+40.497s
5	Oscar Piastri		McLaren	+58.661s
6	Isack Hadjar		Red bull Racing	+1 lap
7	Pierre Gasly		Alpine	+1 lap
8	Liam Lawson		Racing Bulls	+1 lap
9	Arvid Lindblad		Racing Bulls	+1 lap
10	Franco Colapinto		Alpine	+1 lap