Hamilton celebrates first Ferrari victory at Grand Prix in Barcelona

Hamilton used a three-stop strategy in Barcelona and came in for another tyre change in lap 28, among others. His qualifying result the day before had already been second on the grid – according to the organisers, his best qualifying result since his switch from Mercedes to Ferrari last year. At the finish, the 41-year-old was ahead of George Russell, whose second place denied Mercedes their first win of the season. Over the radio, Hamilton thanked his team with the words: "Guter Job, Jungs".

Russell also celebrated a personal milestone in Barcelona: it was his 100th Grand Prix for Mercedes. The Briton had also secured his tenth career pole position on Saturday. In the race, he ultimately had to settle for second place. His team principal Toto Wolff had explained before the weekend that they had given Russell, after his retirement at the Canadian Grand Prix, "emotional … support and told him: We're behind you, let's restart".

Antonelli's retirement and the championship situation

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli retired from the Barcelona race with a technical defect, missing out on what would have been his sixth consecutive victory. The 19-year-old Italian had started from third – for the first time not on the front row of the grid after five consecutive race wins. In the overall standings, Antonelli now leads Hamilton, who travels as championship runner-up, by 41 points.

Behind Hamilton and Russell, Lando Norris in the McLaren completed the podium. Norris is the reigning world champion and finished in third place. His team-mate Oscar Piastri came sixth, ahead of Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull finished fifth. Nico Hülkenberg in the Audi retired before the halfway mark of the race with technical problems and therefore remains without a championship point for the Audi works team. His team-mate also failed to score any points.

Further classifications and retirements

Hülkenberg had started the race from his best grid position of the season, ninth. At that point, after 5 of 66 laps, he was still listed in ninth place. Arvid Lindblad, also in the Racing Bulls, was in tenth position at that time. Local hero Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin also retired – possibly at his last appearance in Barcelona. The race stewards also opened an investigation against Hamilton for a possible infringement under yellow flag conditions, which however had no consequences for him.

After the race in Barcelona, the Formula 1 circus is already looking ahead to the upcoming challenges. Antonelli's retirement makes the title race appear more open, even though the Italian continues to lead the overall standings clearly. Hamilton, meanwhile, has sent a clear statement with his first Ferrari victory and refreshed memories of his old Mercedes days – only this time in the red race suit.