Hamilton wins maiden Ferrari race as Antonelli retires in Barcelona

Lewis Hamilton delivered Ferrari’s first grand prix victory with the team in commanding style at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, turning a controlled drive into one of the defining results of the 2026 Formula 1 season. The win on June 14 ended Mercedes’ Sunday winning streak and gave Hamilton his first victory since the Belgian Grand Prix in July 2024, when he was still driving for Mercedes.

Ferrari built the result on strategy as much as speed. Hamilton started on soft tyres, then the team committed to a three-stop plan that was sharpened by a Virtual Safety Car, which handed him a free stop and kept him in position to attack. From there, Hamilton held off George Russell and Lando Norris, with Norris’s podium creating the first all-British top three since 1968. It was Hamilton’s 106th career victory and his 31st Grand Prix for Ferrari, a landmark that carries symbolic weight far beyond the points table.

The result matters because Ferrari did not just win a race, it interrupted a pattern. Mercedes had won every Sunday race so far in 2026, and Hamilton’s move to Maranello has been judged almost entirely by whether it could restore him to title-contending form. Barcelona offered the clearest answer yet. The pace was steady, the pit wall was decisive, and Ferrari finally converted one of its most scrutinized driver-team pairings into a race-winning package.

The championship picture changed just as sharply at the front of the field. Kimi Antonelli arrived in Barcelona as the leader after a five-race winning streak, but his race ended on lap 62 of 66. Charles Leclerc also retired late, leaving seven official retirements in total and stripping Antonelli of the cushion he had built. Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri scored points, but the headline belonged to Hamilton, whose breakthrough at Ferrari tightened the title battle and raised the stakes for the rest of the season.