Lewis Hamilton won his first race for Ferrari today at Barcelona, at 41, after 40 races without a win. The last driver to win their first Ferrari race at this specific circuit: Michael Schumacher. 1996.
Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari in February 2024, leaving Mercedes after winning six of his seven world titles there. His last win for that team came at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, inherited when teammate George Russell was disqualified. Then he crossed the paddock.
In 2025, Hamilton went the whole season without a single Grand Prix podium, ending sixth in the championship, 267 points behind champion Lando Norris. The reason: Ferrari made a call partway through that year to put almost the entire design team on the 2026 car, built under a brand new rulebook. Hamilton raced a car they had stopped developing, with no realistic shot at winning.
The 2026 season started to click. Third in China. A pair of second places in Canada and Monaco. But wins kept arriving for Mercedes through the first seven races of the year.
Today at Barcelona, Ferrari outplanned the field. They ran a three-stop strategy, and when Fernando Alonso's car stopped on lap 41, it triggered a Virtual Safety Car, a brief slowdown where pit stops cost almost no time. Ferrari brought Hamilton in immediately. He rejoined ahead of George Russell, set the race's fastest lap on fresh tyres, and crossed the line 19.5 seconds clear. Russell finished second. Lando Norris was third for McLaren, completing the first all-British Formula 1 podium since 1968.
At 41, Hamilton became the oldest race winner in Formula 1 since Jack Brabham in 1970. He is the only driver in history to win Grand Prix races with McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
In the championship, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, the 19-year-old who had led from the start, saw his points advantage cut from 66 to 41.
Schumacher's first Ferrari win at Barcelona launched an 11-year partnership that produced five world championships. Hamilton is 8 races into his second season in red.