After a 2025 that fell short of expectations, he finally did it: Lewis Hamilton achieved his first victory as a Ferrari driver. The seven-time champion triumphed at the Barcelona Grand Prix with an impeccable strategy that took advantage of the neutralizations to stay ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris.
The race began with Russell maintaining the lead against Hamilton, who had opted for soft tires. Behind them were Kimi Antonelli, Norris, and Max Verstappen, while Franco Colapinto had a good start, advancing to 11th place with his Alpine. The Argentine driver fought in the points zone for much of the race alongside Pierre Gasly, to whom he ceded position on lap 20 to favor the French team's strategy.
Meanwhile, the battle for the lead unfolded between Mercedes and Ferrari. Hamilton alternated the lead with Russell and took advantage of every pit stop window to stay in the fight. The race changed definitively when Fernando Alonso had to retire due to mechanical issues on lap 41, causing a Virtual Safety Car that allowed the Brit to make his final stop without losing positions.
During that phase of the race, Colapinto remained in the points zone with a solid performance. The Argentine occupied tenth place, three and a half seconds behind his teammate Pierre Gasly, while holding a narrow advantage over Liam Lawson.
With new hard tires, the seven-time world champion returned to the track at the front of the pack and began to extend his lead. With 15 laps to go, he already had an eight-second advantage over Russell and seemed to be heading towards the checkered flag without any issues.
In the final laps, the fight for the podium had a decisive chapter. After several laps of a fierce battle, Antonelli managed to overtake Russell to take second place, but shortly after suffered a power unit failure and had to retire. Almost simultaneously, Charles Leclerc also retired from the race due to a problem with the power steering of his Ferrari.
With no direct rivals at the finish and a considerable gap over the rest, Hamilton sealed his first victory since joining the Italian team. Meanwhile, Russell inherited second place from his teammate, and Norris completed the podium. Behind them finished Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, and Isack Hadjar, who managed to recover from a poor start to return to the front positions.
In parallel, Alpine also had reasons to celebrate. After the retirements of Antonelli and Leclerc, what could have been a 9th and 10th for Gasly and Colapinto turned into a 7th and 8th, surpassing their main rivals of the day: Liam Lawson (9th) and Arvid Lindbald (10th).
Driver Standings after Barcelona
1st - Andra Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 156 points
2nd - Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 115 points
3rd - George Russell (Mercedes) - 106 points
4th - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 75 points
5th - Lando Norris (McLaren) - 73 points
6th - Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 68 points
7th - Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 55 points
8th - PIERRE GASLY (Alpine) - 41 points
9th - Isaac Hadjar (Red Bull) - 34 points
10th - Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 26 points
11th - FRANCO COLAPINTO (Alpine) - 19 points
12th - Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 18 points
13th - Arvid Limblad (Racing Bulls) - 12 points
