SPORTSIDE

The race in Barcelona has also been marked by numerous retirements, with a dramatic twist at the end caused by the double retirement of Antonelli and Leclerc, just a few laps from the end of the Grand Prix. The winner is Sir Lewis Hamilton, who claimed his first victory with Maranello team on the circuit where, thirty years ago, Michael Schumacher triumphed for the first time with Ferrari. With this masterful triumph, coming at the end of a superb race in which Hamilton managed to hold off the two Mercedes, Lewis has now overtaken Schumacher in terms of the number of victories at the Montmeló circuit.

Despite the excellent pace shown in the race and overtaking his team-mate, Antonelli retired in the final stages of the race due to a mechanical problem, as did Leclerc, who had attempted to rebuild  his race after crashing into the wall at Turn 4 in Saturday’s qualifying.

TOP

Lewis Hamilton: in his 31st race for Ferrari, following last week’s second place in Monaco, Sir Lewis wins in Barcelona, reigniting the title race, thanks in part to the massive update package brought by Ferrari which has narrowed the performance gap with Mercedes. With this victory, Lewis moves to within 41 points of Antonelli in the title race.

Alpine: for the second time this season, the French team has both cars finishing in the points, with Pierre Gasly taking seventh place and Franco Colapinto eighth, just behind him. With this result, Gasly confirms his run of form following his superb third-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix behind Antonelli and Hamilton.

Lando Norris: after securing an excellent second row in qualifying, just three thousandths of a second behind Antonelli, the reigning world champion put in a solid race, taking third place ahead of Verstappen and his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who seemed to be struggling a bit more today.

FLOP

Aston Martin: the British team’s run of bad luck continues; following a disappointing qualifying session, they finished the race with zero points and the retirement of Fernando Alonso, who had secured his last victory with Ferrari at Montmeló back in 2013. The Silverstone-based team still has a lot of work to do to redeem a season that has so far fallen well short of expectations, despite signing Newey for this season.

Piastri: after a season start marked by ups and downs, with two consecutive double retirements and two podium finishes at Suzuka and Miami, the Australian struggled in Barcelona, managing to finish the race in fifth place thanks in part to the numerous retirements. Despite the good finish, the lack of pace throughout the weekend was evident, with his team-mate Norris managing to get the most out of the McLaren, securing an excellent third place. The Piastri of 2026 is far from the driver who won ahead of his team-mate in Barcelona in 2025.

Charles Leclerc: in a weekend compromised by a qualifying error that forced him to start from tenth on the grid, the Monegasque driver, compounded by an unfortunate mechanical failure on his car, squandered an opportunity to climb the standings in the world championship, whilst his team-mate Lewis Hamilton secured an extraordinary first place ahead of Russell’s Mercedes, extending his lead over Leclerc by a further twenty-five points in the standings.