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Lewis Hamilton’s first win for Ferrari brought unanimous support from the Formula 1 paddock, most notably from Mercedes, but they need to calm that down.
‘Almost every’ mechanic from all teams applauded Hamilton after he claimed his maiden win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. It was a historic moment for the seven-time champion and brought him and Ferrari into the title picture.
Mercedes had been dominating the 2026 season before Barcelona, winning every race besides the Miami Sprint. Ferrari and Hamilton beat his former team on pure pace while Kimi Antonelli retired with a mechanical failure – it makes their social media antics all the more baffling.
Lewis Hamilton is now only missing a Grand Prix pole position for Ferrari 🏆 Predict when it will come?
Mercedes need to treat Lewis Hamilton like a title rival – they must stop posting about him on social media
George Russell was stunned by Hamilton’s ‘insane’ pace in Barcelona. The Mercedes driver appeared to be taken aback by the Ferrari’s speed in qualifying, and that continued into the Grand Prix as he won the race by just under 20 seconds.
The result moves Hamilton 41 points behind Antonelli in the standings, after the Italian suffered an engine failure with six laps to go. Reliability has been a huge issue for Mercedes in 2026, and now Ferrari are closing the gap.
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Hamilton is quickly becoming Antonelli’s biggest threat in the championship fight, but the way Mercedes have gone about their former driver’s win in Barcelona, it does not seem like they perceive it that way.
The Brackley outfit congratulated Hamilton on his victory on X (formerly Twitter) and again on LinkedIn. Mercedes did not mention Russell’s podium once in that post, despite it being his 100th race for the team.
Showing respect to a driver is one thing, but this is bizarre from Mercedes, especially given the circumstances of the win. Hamilton won at the expense of Russell, who was off the pace of his former teammate, and most importantly, Antonelli.
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The Italian’s DNF cost him 25 points in the drivers’ championship fight, which could prove costly across the season. With Ferrari now outdeveloping Mercedes and McLaren, according to Martin Brundle, winning might soon become a regular thing for Hamilton.
Mercedes need to start treating Hamilton as a serious title rival, rather than an old friend. Given their dominance at the start of 2026, they will not want to lose the championship to Ferrari, even if it is their former star who wins it.
They need to focus their attention on Antonelli, and even more on Russell, who does not seem to be getting any love from the team right now. The fight is on with Ferrari and Hamilton, and Mercedes have to realise that.
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