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Lewis Hamilton won the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after Ferrari brought eight updates, and the upgrade package did not include the SF-26’s new rear wheels.
No team took more upgrades to Montmelo than the Maranello natives, who overhauled the design of the SF-26 in their search for more downforce. Ferrari introduced a new front wing, nosecone, sidepods, floor, engine cover and rear diffuser in one cohesive package last week.
Ferrari’s upgrades at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP certainly paid off for Hamilton, who sealed P2 in qualifying before securing his first Grand Prix win in red. Mercedes rival George Russell beat Hamilton to score pole position in Barcelona by only 0.064 seconds, while Andrea Kimi Antonelli in third place ended Q3 with a 0.255s deficit to the Ferrari star’s quickest lap time.
Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?
Ferrari utilised the FIA relaxing the 2026 F1 wheel rules to help BBS design new rear rims
Russell could not deal with Hamilton’s race pace during the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, though, as the latter would likely have triumphed regardless of the late virtual safety car period. But the VSC certainly helped Hamilton win the Barcelona-Catalunya GP by 19.561s over Russell.
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Part of the reason why Hamilton built such a margin over Russell was that the Ferrari driver did not destroy his Pirelli tyres in the 31°C air temperature and 52°C track temperature, per Motorsport.com. Instead, Hamilton and Charles Leclerc utilised Ferrari’s new rear tyre rims.
Ferrari did not have to list their new BBS rear wheel rims as part of their upgrade package at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP. But the Scuderia utilised the FIA ‘liberating’ wheel designs this year, by allowing different types to be used across the front and rear axles, to change theirs.
BBS’s new rear rims, which they created after working closely with Ferrari, helped Hamilton and Leclerc to ‘isolate’ the heat produced by the brakes. The intention was to avoid the high temperatures from their braking system radiating through the rims and into the Pirelli tyres.
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The new rims are made from forged magnesium, and feature a better design to disperse hot air. Ferrari and BBS will no doubt believe the new rims ultimately helped Hamilton to secure his first Grand Prix win in red, as it came in a race where the Pirelli tyres were a key concern.
Pirelli suspected that tyre degradation would play a big role in deciding the outcome of the Barcelona-Catalunya GP, given the blistering heat in Montmelo (especially on Sunday). Yet a flurry of upgrades and BBS’s new rims helped Ferrari to end Mercedes’ dominance in 2026.
Hamilton also now finds himself threatening to challenge Antonelli for the 2026 F1 drivers’ championship after the first seven of this year’s 22 currently scheduled rounds. The seven-time F1 champion is only 41 points behind, helped by the Italian’s retirement in Barcelona.
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