Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Leader Ends 18-Month Winless Run in Barcelona
Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Leader finally turned the corner in Barcelona on Sunday, winning his first Grand Prix for Ferrari and ending a nearly two-year wait for victory. The result also tightened his place in the title fight, with Hamilton now 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli after seven rounds.
Barcelona Gives Hamilton a Result
The win mattered because Hamilton had spent large parts of 2025 searching for the kind of form that once came more naturally. He went through the whole 2025 Formula 1 season without standing on the podium for the first time in his career, a blunt contrast to the finish he delivered at Barcelona.
That dry spell makes Sunday more than a single good afternoon. Hamilton has now gone nearly two years without a Grand Prix win before Barcelona, and this one arrived after a run of results that pointed to a driver starting to settle into Ferrari’s package.
Ferrari Changes Under Hamilton
Hamilton said the changes he asked for and pushed for all last year have been made, and that he now has the right team around him and the right car around him. He also pointed to the more nimble and narrower 2026 cars as a better fit for a more aggressive driving approach.
That fit has shown up before Barcelona. Hamilton was a match for Charles Leclerc on pace at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, took his first Ferrari podium in China at the second round, then finished second in Canada in May before taking second again in Monaco.
Monaco stood out because Hamilton outperformed Leclerc at his team-mate’s home event, another sign that the early-season rhythm was building rather than fading. Those results gave his Barcelona win a clearer shape: not one sudden spike, but a climb that had already begun over several races.
Antonelli Holds The Lead
Hamilton still has ground to make up in the championship. Antonelli remains his closest challenger in the F1 Drivers’ Championship, and the Ferrari driver is 41 points adrift after seven rounds.
Hamilton said after the race that the team’s response has helped him through the rough patches, noting, “They [the team] have been so kind. You come back to the garage after a difficult race and they just say like, 'Don't worry, next time', they're just so supportive through it all,” He added, “But for sure, results like this change everything and for sure reinstate, if there is a lack of confidence, reinstates it all.”
His own assessment of the weekend was even more direct: “The changes that I've asked for and pushed for all last year have been made and I now have the right team around me, I now have the right car around me, and now I can start doing what I do best.” For Ferrari, Barcelona was the first clear return on that belief.
