Lewis Hamilton takes first Ferrari win at Barcelona Grand Prix as Kimi Antonelli retires

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Lewis Hamilton won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix in one of the best performances this season as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli completed the podium.

George Russell capitalised on his strong start into turn one, with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli right behind him, as the top three maintained their positions into the first lap.

Max Verstappen very quickly made up places, finding himself in P5, with Charles Leclerc doing the same, dragging his Ferrari into P7 despite starting in P10 after a crash in qualifying.

One person who didn’t start well was Isack Hadjar in P6, who found himself outside of the top 10 within the first three laps, leaving a lot of work for himself.

Both the Racing Bulls drivers managed to get into the top 10 to start the race, marking yet another strong start for both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.

Russell quickly built a lead over Hamilton, managing to set a few fastest lap times despite the latter being on soft tyres to start the race.

It was Lap 7 when we got our first retirement, as unsurprisingly, Aston Martin faced issues with the gearbox, forcing Lance Stroll to retire.

Leclerc pushed up to P6, as Oscar Piastri couldn’t hold off the Monegasque driver, presumably due to the issues McLaren were facing throughout the weekend.

Up ahead in P4, Lando Norris complained about his tyres having little-to-no grip around Lap 10, as the misery for reigning world champions continued.

Having seen his soft tyre strategy not work, Hamilton went into the pits in Lap 12 to change into some hard tyres, as he began his attempt to mount a comeback and win the race.

Russell would follow and switch to hard tyres the following lap, with Verstappen going into the pits right behind him to switch to the mediums.

Valtteri Bottas would join Lance Stroll in the pit lane, as Cadillac told him to retire the car, marking yet another race he’s failed to finish this season.

We got our first battle of the race between Nico Hulkenberg and Liam Lawson, as the German looked to take P9.

Up ahead in the race, Antonelli managed to close the gap to Hamilton from six seconds when he exited the pit lane to just 2.3 seconds, as the Italian driver looked to snatch P2 away from his Mercedes predecessor.

Not far behind around lap 27 was Norris, who was under two seconds behind Antonelli. Hamilton would end up leading the pack yet again, entering the pit lane in Lap 28 to switch to medium tyres.

Hulkenberg would become the third driver to retire his car, as Audi found issues with the engine that denied him the chance to earn his first set of points this season.

Antonelli then began his battle with Russell, as the two Mercedes drivers fought it out for the race lead. Russell managed to hold off Antonelli in Lap 33, and extended the lead between the two.

Hamilton’s switch to medium tyres paid off brilliantly, as he quickly closed the gap between himself and the two Mercedes drivers as he chased them down.

Seeing Russell hold off Antonelli while Hamilton closed the gap, Mercedes called him in to change to hard tyres, with Antonelli being instructed to the same as the second half of the race began.

Exiting just ahead of Norris, Antonelli was then tasked with covering the world champion, who was giving him a lot of trouble.

Fernando Alonso’s home race ended in disaster, as his crash ended up forcing a virtual safety car. This would prove to be a huge boost for Hamilton, who went into the pits in Lap 41.

And just as he exited the pits, the virtual safety car ended, as Hamilton and Ferrari pulled off a brilliant strategic move thanks to a bit of luck.

Hamilton quickly built a sizable lead over Russell, as the masterful gambit paid off. With 12 laps to go, Hamilton led by 10 seconds, earning himself a comfortable gap.

Right behind him, Russell and Antonelli resumed their battle, as the Italian looked to pour salt on the wounds of his teammate.

Antonelli managed to overtake Russell in Lap 61, pushing the pole position holder into P3, but it cost him, as he suffered some front wing damage.

There was late drama, as Antonelli lost power in his car, forcing him into his second straight retirement in Barcelona, with Charles Leclerc being forced into retirement right behind him.

This forced a second virtual safety car, and allowed Lando Norris to earn a podium position with just two laps remaining.

Your podium for the 2026 Barcelona GP 🇪🇸 But where does Lewis Hamilton finish without the VSC?

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Hamilton ended up crossing the line comfortably ahead of everyone, with George Russell, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Isack Hadjar, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the points

Gabriel Bortoleto, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, and Alex Albon were the remaining drivers who finished the race.