Liam Lawson secured another valuable points finish at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya as Lewis Hamilton claimed his first Grand Prix victory for Ferrari in a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix that featured multiple retirements and late-race twists.
The Kiwi crossed the line ninth but was promoted to eighth after Alpine’s Franco Colapinto received a post-race 10-second penalty, capping off a hard-fought afternoon for the Racing Bulls driver in one of the season’s most demanding races.
At the front, Hamilton ended Mercedes’ unbeaten run in 2026 with a masterclass in strategy and tyre management, leading home George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris to complete the first all-British Formula 1 podium in almost six decades.
The scorching conditions in Barcelona created a challenging strategic battle from the outset, with track temperatures soaring above 50 degrees Celsius, placing immense pressure on tyres throughout the 66-lap contest.
Starting from the second row, Lawson made a clean getaway and settled into the midfield fight as Russell maintained the lead from pole position ahead of Hamilton. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli also held station early as the front runners concentrated on preserving their tyres.
While Russell initially appeared comfortable at the front, tyre degradation quickly became a major factor. Teams began cycling through pit stops shortly after the opening dozen laps, and Lawson’s race suffered a setback when Racing Bulls endured a slow 6.3-second stop. The delay dropped the New Zealander down the order and left him with significant work to do during the remainder of the race.
Despite the lost time, Lawson remained firmly in the hunt for points as the midfield battle intensified.
Further ahead, Ferrari opted for an aggressive three-stop strategy with Hamilton. While most of his rivals committed to a conventional two-stop approach, the Scuderia gambled on additional fresh tyres, allowing the seven-time world champion to consistently produce faster lap times during the middle stages of the race.
As the strategy unfolded, Hamilton steadily closed the gap to the Mercedes pair and emerged as a genuine contender for victory.
The race was interrupted by a series of retirements. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll became the first casualty after an early technical issue, while Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas was also forced out with reliability problems.
Lawson, meanwhile, found himself involved in a tense scrap for the final points-paying positions, battling rivals from Audi, Alpine and Red Bull’s junior team as strategies converged.
The race swung heavily in Ferrari’s favour when Fernando Alonso’s retirement triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Hamilton made his final pit stop under neutralised conditions, significantly reducing the time lost and allowing him to retain control of the race.
Armed with fresher tyres than those around him, Hamilton immediately began extending his advantage over Russell.
Behind the leading duo, the fight for the final podium place intensified between Antonelli and Norris. The Mercedes rookie had been under pressure for much of the race, not only from the McLaren driver but also from repeated track limits concerns.
The situation exploded with just a handful of laps remaining. Antonelli successfully overtook Russell for second place but suffered damage shortly afterwards and was forced to retire his Mercedes, bringing an abrupt end to a promising afternoon and dealing a significant blow to his championship campaign.
Almost simultaneously, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc encountered mechanical problems and also exited the race, prompting another Virtual Safety Car period.
Neither interruption threatened Hamilton’s advantage. The Ferrari driver controlled the closing laps comfortably and crossed the finish line nearly 20 seconds clear of Russell to secure his first Grand Prix win in Ferrari colours and his first Formula 1 victory since 2024.
Russell inherited second place following Antonelli’s retirement, while Norris completed the podium in third.
Max Verstappen led Red Bull’s charge in fourth, ahead of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. Isack Hadjar recovered from a difficult opening lap to finish sixth, while Pierre Gasly produced one of Alpine’s strongest results of the season in seventh.
Lawson was classified eighth following Colapinto’s penalty, adding another four championship points to his tally. Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad also scored in ninth, with Colapinto dropping to tenth.
Gabriel Bortoleto narrowly missed the points in 11th ahead of Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, while Alex Albon was classified but finished several laps down after spending much of the race dealing with technical issues.
The attrition rate was high, with Antonelli, Leclerc, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas and Lance Stroll all failing to reach the chequered flag.
For Lawson, the result represented another determined performance in difficult circumstances. Despite losing ground during the pit stop phase and finding himself disadvantaged by the timing of the Virtual Safety Car, the Kiwi remained in the fight throughout the race and capitalised on the late retirements to secure eighth place and add more points to his championship tally.
Lawson admitted afterwards that Racing Bulls had expected to be more competitive around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya but felt the race slipped away from them as rivals benefited from strategy and timing.
“It was a difficult race today,” Lawson said.
“We came into it expecting to be more competitive, but unfortunately, we struggled for pace compared to the cars around us.
“We were also unlucky with the VSC, which allowed Gasly to pit and come out ahead of us, making our race even more challenging.”
Despite the frustrations, Lawson was encouraged by the team’s overall form and the consistency they have shown throughout the opening half of the season.
“We’ll go away, review everything and look at what we could have done better to maximise the result,” he added. “Despite today’s result, there are still plenty of positives to take away.
“We’ve shown strong pace throughout the weekend, and the season so far has been encouraging. We’ve managed to score points in most races so far too, which is a testament to the hard work everyone is putting in. We’re in a good place as a team, and there’s a lot to be optimistic about, so I’m looking forward to Austria and excited to see what we can achieve there.”
The result marked Racing Bulls’ second consecutive double points finish after teammate Arvid Lindblad also finished inside the top 10. The rookie crossed the line tenth before being promoted to ninth following Colapinto’s post-race penalty.
Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane described the outcome as positive but acknowledged the team had expected to challenge further up the order after a strong showing throughout practice and qualifying.
“There are mixed feelings following today’s race in Barcelona,” Permane said.
“After a strong weekend, it felt as though we retreated a little bit in the race.
“The Alpines definitely had the measure of us today, but it also demonstrates that our ambitions and expectations are higher than what we achieved, with both cars in the points in P8 and P9 following Franco Colapinto’s time penalty.”
Permane highlighted the progress the team has made compared with earlier races at high-speed circuits but said analysing the gap between their qualifying and race pace would be a major focus before Formula 1 heads to Austria.
“We were a long way off the pace of Alpine back in Miami, which also had some high-speed corners, so we’ve made a big jump since then,” he said.
“Overall, it was a decent weekend, however we’re always striving to do better, and the team will be working hard to make important adjustments ahead of Austria.”
Formula 1 action returns in two weeks’ time for the Austrian Grand Prix at The Red Bull Ring.
Header Image: Alastair Staley/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
