Lewis Hamilton has won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, his first for Ferrari in his second season with the constructor, and his seventh career win on the circuit, the last with Mercedes in 2021. The victory ends a 40-race drought, dating back to a win in the Belgian Grand Prix on July 28, 2024, also with Mercedes. Its the first race in this year's championship not won by Mercedes.
Hamilton can credit his race team, pulling off a three-stop, the last on a virtual safety car that allowed him to pit and still return with the lead on fresh set of hard tires, easily pulling away from the field over the last 25 laps to win by 19.5 seconds over Mercedes' George Russell, with McLaren's Lando Norris completing the podium. Drivers championship leader Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire after overtaking teammate Russell for P2 with just four laps remaining, only to have his car completely lose power three turns later, officially ending his streak of five consecutive wins.
Antonelli wasn't alone. Charles Leclerc's Ferrari suffered complete hydraulic failure on the same lap as Antonelli, while in P6. Ollie Bearman (Haas), the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) were the other retirements. Alex Albon had his Williams on track when the race ended but did not complete enough laps to qualify for an official finish.
As for points, Max Verstappen finished P4 for Red Bull and his teammate Isack Hadjar came in P6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) was P5. The last four points finisher came in pairs. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto took P7 and P8 for Alpine, and Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were P9 and P10 for Racing Bulls.
My take: Good for Hamilton. He's raced well this season — four podiums in seven races, P2 in Canada and Monaco leading into Barcelona — and Ferrari had been the best car to not win. Austria's Red Bull Ring is next in two weeks, which will favor more straight-line speed, so advantage Mercedes.
THE ASYLUM
Hamilton wins first with Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton has won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, his first for Ferrari in his second season with the constructor, and his seventh career win on the circuit, the last with Mercedes in 2021. The victory ends a 40-race drought, dating back to a win in the Belgian Grand Prix on July 28, 2024, also with Mercedes. Its the first race in this year's championship not won by Mercedes.
Hamilton can credit his race team, pulling off a three-stop, the last on a virtual safety car that allowed him to pit and still return with the lead on fresh set of hard tires, easily pulling away from the field over the last 25 laps to win by 19.5 seconds over Mercedes' George Russell, with McLaren's Lando Norris completing the podium. Drivers championship leader Kimi Antonelli was forced to retire after overtaking teammate Russell for P2 with just four laps remaining, only to have his car completely lose power three turns later, officially ending his streak of five consecutive wins.
Antonelli wasn't alone. Charles Leclerc's Ferrari suffered complete hydraulic failure on the same lap as Antonelli, while in P6. Ollie Bearman (Haas), the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), and Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) were the other retirements. Alex Albon had his Williams on track when the race ended but did not complete enough laps to qualify for an official finish.
As for points, Max Verstappen finished P4 for Red Bull and his teammate Isack Hadjar came in P6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) was P5. The last four points finisher came in pairs. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto took P7 and P8 for Alpine, and Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad were P9 and P10 for Racing Bulls.
My take: Good for Hamilton. He's raced well this season — four podiums in seven races, P2 in Canada and Monaco leading into Barcelona — and Ferrari had been the best car to not win. Austria's Red Bull Ring is next in two weeks, which will favor more straight-line speed, so advantage Mercedes.
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