After all the waiting, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari fairytale has its first chapter.
Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday, ending the Italian team’s winless run stretching back to Mexico in 2024. The win came courtesy of a perfectly timed pit stop under a Virtual Safety Car, triggered by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin retirement on lap 40.
Hamilton had spent much of the race in a strategic battle with Mercedes teammates George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who had started on different tyre compounds. After running in third behind Russell and Antonelli, Hamilton held a 14-second lead when Alonso’s breakdown slowed the field. Ferrari reacted immediately, bringing Hamilton in for his final stop under the VSC, sending him back out still in front and on fresher tyres.
From there, the race was his. Hamilton drove cleanly to the chequered flag, with Russell and Norris completing an all-British podium — the first since the 1968 US Grand Prix.
The victory carries two remarkable ironies. It was Ferrari’s first win in Spain since 2013 — a race won by Alonso himself. And the man whose retirement gifted Hamilton this victory was the same man who spent years as his fiercest rival.
Hamilton has his Ferrari win. The story is just getting started.
