With Kimi Antonelli having achieved his fifth straight win last time out in Monaco, the question on everyone’s lips was could anyone beat the young Italian in Barcelona? With a flurry of new drivers joining the grid for FP1, the first traditional circuit since the Japanese Grand Prix and a slew of hungry competitors looking to close down the gap to the front, the heat was on for Mercedes to deliver again. They would have gotten away with it and delivered too if it wasn’t for one pesky Ferrari driver…
Here are The Paddock Chronicle’s Key Takeaways from Barcelona.
Lewis Hamilton Wins for Ferrari
686 days ago, Lewis Hamilton won his last Grand Prix for Mercedes at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. Since then, he’s moved to Ferrari, endured a difficult debut season with the team and been left with a mission to flip the script and take back control of the narrative.
At last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton did just that. In his thirty-first start for the Italian outfit, Hamilton put in a masterclass performance as he and the team worked in perfect harmony to convert P2 at the start into a race win.
Lewis Hamilton is now forty-one points away from Antonelli at the top of the Championship and is the only driver to have scored points in every single Grand Prix so far this season. Remarkably, he’s finished in the top seven in either a Sprint or a Grand Prix. Hamilton also becomes the sixteenth driver to win with a third different Constructor and the first since Sebastian Vettel back in 2015.
Moreover, Hamilton became the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio to win a Grand Prix for both Mercedes and Ferrari – it was the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix where Fangio achieved that. It’s worth noting too that Michael Schumacher’s first Grand Prix win with Ferrari came at this very same circuit in 1996. Hamilton has now beaten Schumacher’s record of six victories at this circuit with his seventh on Sunday. Finally, Lewis became the oldest driver to win a Grand Prix since Jack Brabham. Brabham was 44 years, 11 months and 5 days old at the 1970 South African Grand Prix.
It’s fair to say that there’s life in the old dog yet.
Is George Russell Back?
Since the opening race of the season in Australia, George Russell has been on the backfoot when it comes to squaring off against his teammate Kimi Antonelli. But from the word go in Free Practice I on Friday, Russell looked resurgent. This went further in Qualifying when Mr Saturday put his Mercedes on Pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix. It was his tenth career pole and Mercedes’ 150th.
The race itself was more complicated – and not just because of the force of nature that is Lewis Hamilton. Antonelli kept him honest all race long and even overtook him for P2 in the closing stages of the Grand Prix after the two battled briefly. But the bad luck that befell Russell in Canada now knocked on Antonelli’s door. The young Italian’s car came to a griding holt and Russell was back in second. The gap between the duo is now down to fifty points in the Championships.
But now it’s not just Antonelli that Russell has to contend with but Lewis Hamilton too. As Russell comes back to the fore, it may just be the perfect time for him to do so as he prepares to take on his biggest battle for the Championship so far – both from within his own team and outside of it.
McLaren – Finding their Form
Lewis Hamilton eclipsed everything else going on in the world of sport on Sunday, nevermind what else was happening within the Spanish Grand Prix. McLaren will be quick to remind their fans and partners though as they had one of their strongest weekends of the year so far. With Antonelli’s retirement came the gift of a third place podium for Lando Norris – his first since Miami. It comes off the back of a double DNF (the first in his career) and will be a welcome result for the defending World Champion.
Oscar Piastri finished in fifth in what is proving to be a quietly consistent season for the Australian. However, the team is still lacking when it comes to fighting the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and Max Verstappen. That being said, they are stretching their legs away from Red Bull now in the Constructors and can still see Ferrari ahead of them.
Austria is up next for Formula 1 and with the team having scored a 1-2 here last year, this race may give us our best indication yet of what McLaren are capable of in 2026.
Double Trouble – Alpine & Racing Bulls
Alpine and Racing Bulls have been quietly doing quite well so far this season. Coming into the weekend, Pierre Gasly had his P3 podium for Monaco reinstated and he followed that result up with a solid P7 finish. Teammate Colapinto finished behind him in eighth. But he then dropped to tenth following a ten second time penalty for failing to slow for yellow flags. This still gave the team their third double points finish of the year. They sit P5 overall, less than thirty points away from Red Bull.
Behind them, Lawson and Lindblad benefited heavily from Antonelli and Leclerc’s retirements. On the fringes of the points, both Racing Bulls moved into the top then, giving them back-to-back double points finishes. Lawson has now scored points in five of the seven Grand Prix so far in 2026. In P6 overall, just twenty-two points separate them from Alpine.
Rookies Galore in FP1
The first practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix saw seven driver swaps take place across the Formula 1 grid. Formula 1’s regulations mandate that every full-time driver must make way for a rookie – an individual who has started no more than two Grands Prix – in two practice sessions across the season. The Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya is often a Grand Prix weekend where the first of these takes place and this year was no different.
Leonardo Fornaroli traded places with Lando Norris and was the quickest of the rookies out on track. The Italian driver put in 22 laps and was +0.853s off the pace in P5. It was Paul Aron, subbing in for Nico Hulkenberg at Audi, who perhaps impressed the most though. P6 overall, +0.958s off the pace, he finished six places ahead of teammate Bortoleto who struggled all session.
The Good, The Bad & The Informative
Dino Beganovic took over from Lewis Hamilton, finishing FP1 in a respectable P8. Ayumu Iwasa replaced Hadjar at Red Bull while Frederik Vesti sat in for Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes. They finished P14 and P15 respectively, around two second off the pace set by George Russell out in front.
Colton Herta made his Formula 1 debut in place of Sergio Perez at Cadillac. While other drivers had clear rookie programmes to get a feel for the car, Cadillac opted to treat Herta as a regular driver for the team as they aimed to learn as much as they could for the weekend ahead. The former IndyCar driver got to put his skills to good use, saving the car from a nasty crash as it twitched around the circuit at T7 and T8. He finished the session in P21.
Finally, Luke Browning was meant to drive for Williams while Alex Albon watched from the side-lines. But issues with the car prevented Browning from getting out on track at all. Consequently, this won’t count as one of the two mandatory sessions Williams needs to fulfil in 2026.
Anything Else?
Alex Albon broke Nigel Mansell’s record for most race starts with Williams this weekend. But the Thai driver would sadly retire from the race following issues with the car. Both Aston Martins also failed to finish – a shame for Alonso in what he claims will be his final Spanish Grand Prix at this venue.
Haas left a lot to be desired as they had their second race weekend of the year where neither driver scored points. The American outfit will need to bounce back soon if they wish to stay ahead of Williams in the standings.
Charles Leclerc suffered from his first back-to-back DNF results since 2018 when he drove for Sauber. He is now just two points ahead of Lando Norris overall. Cadillac meanwhile continued their trend of having at least one car finish every Grand Prix so far this year as Perez finished in P14. It may not seem like much, but for a brand new team, it’s small wins like this that are key to building its foundations for the future.
Final Thought
Lewis Hamilton ensured that the Spanish Grand Prix got the send of it deserved. The circuit now goes on rotation with Spa from 2027 onwards and won’t be back on the Formula 1 schedule until 2028. A circuit that is regularly used for testing in Formula 1 and the Feeder Series, it gives teams, drivers and fans a great indication of what they can expect moving forwards.
If this Grand Prix is anything to go by, it means that Kimi Antonelli’s path to a first World Championship may not be so straightforward after all. Is this the next part of Hamilton’s campaign to achieve his eighth World Championship? Or is this the start of George Russell’s comeback to claim his first?
One thing is for certain as Murray Walker used to say – anything can happen in Formula 1, and is usually does.
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Formula 1 returns June 26th for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Feature Image: Ferrari F1 Media Gallery