Hamilton and Ferrari surge, Mercedes regret: Barcelona GP winners and losers

Historic, to say the least, was the event witnessed in Montmeló. After 686 days, Hamilton returned to the top step of the podium, and this time in the colours of the Ferrari team. The much-maligned and criticised driver has found his sweet spot after a torrid debut year at Maranello.

It appeared to be on the cards; many would say, “I saw the win coming”, and thanks to the Mercedes outfit and its strategy calls in Barcelona, it was win number 106 for Hamilton and his first for Ferrari since the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix. However, while the elation appears to be boundless on one side of Maranello, the same cannot be said of Charles Leclerc, or even the Mercedes team, who could be said to have thrown away a victory after claiming pole with George Russell. In light of this, here are our winners and losers from the Barcelona Grand Prix.

The script couldn’t have been better written for the seven-time champion. Following a challenging year and a fresh campaign of building momentum and podium finishes, it all culminated in victory in Barcelona. Hamilton, alongside the Ferrari outfit, was able to masterfully maximise their race and pit-stop strategies to beat the largely flawless Mercedes under the sun in Barcelona.

Lando Norris also makes our list of winners from the Barcelona Grand Prix. The British driver was able to return to the podium after a streak of forgettable outings with the McLaren team. While Norris had to count on the ill luck of a Kimi Antonelli DNF to claim third place on the day, he largely showed impressive pace throughout the race and will be delighted to put an end to his run of engine failures and pointless outings.

Not the race the four-time champion would have wanted, certainly, but taking a close look at the stark reality of things at Red Bull Racing, particularly with their RB22 car, a fourth-place finish on a high tyre-degradation circuit would indeed be ranked as a positive outing. Verstappen appeared off the pace of the front-runners through the weekend; however, he was able to keep his momentum through the race to score valuable points for the Milton Keynes-based team.

Leclerc cannot seem to catch a break currently. The Monegasque has largely seen his season spiral since the return of Formula 1 in Miami. After crashing out of his home race in Monaco, Leclerc again suffered a similar incident during qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix, when he lost his car heading into Turn 4 at the circuit.

The 28-year-old appeared to be on a recovery drive through the race, until another technical gremlin, this time a power steering issue, meant he had to bring his race to another early stop. The outing for Leclerc would prove particularly stinging, considering the newfound form of teammate Hamilton.

Witnessing your podium and winning streak come to an abrupt end through no fault of your own could be quite frustrating, and such was the fate of Kimi Antonelli. The driver witnessed his race come to a halt in the final stages, particularly after he got the overtake on his teammate Russell. Antonelli was also handed a post-race five-second penalty for what was adjudged to be leaving the track for unjustifiable reasons.

The British driver cannot seem to catch a break as he witnessed his attempt to return to victory lane for the first time since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix hampered by the excellence of Ferrari on the day. Russell had qualified on pole for the race, but several battles with Antonelli and a perfectly timed safety car, which Hamilton effectively utilised, meant he failed to climb to the top step of the podium.