Barcelona-Catalunya GP: Martin Brundle’s verdict on Lewis Hamilton’s first grand prix win for Ferrari and Monaco is quick penalty ‘mess’ | F1 News

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari for an impressive win in Barcelona. I love witnessing first-hand the greats like Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and now Lewis, taking first wins for this iconic team. I wish we enjoyed the same opportunity for Ayrton.

Formula 1 has had, and remains, some truly outstanding teams over the decades but somehow Ferrari remains the most emotional, with their incredible and emotional victories and championships, periods of chaos and decline. They are an enigma in our sport.

The story of the weekend was, as usual at this track, about keeping the tires alive, especially given the 50°C track temperature. Long fast corners and relatively short straights in the middle produce incredible power, and therefore tire surface temperatures.

Pirelli has chosen the mandatory three dry tire compounds, one step softer and less durable than last year, and with less downforce on the car creating more sliding and wheel spin and therefore more temperature, it means we have the perfect scenario for me, a decent stretch to take home competitively with two pit stops, and an over stopping position with the required three stopping tracking positions.

George Russell was in great form over the weekend, deciding to follow his instincts and set up with his Mercedes. He looked calm and composed on the track, keeping his car nicely on the edge of the grip without putting too much pressure on the tyres, certainly in the corner where I was standing.

Competed fiercely to qualify

Regulations dictate that each team must field one ‘rookie’ driver, someone who has started two or fewer F1 races, in four free practice one sessions per season, two per car. Most drivers in F1 these days have benefited from that experience and showcase, but it can be painful when a responsible driver is forced to sit out a session and watch someone else in their car on track. As Barcelona’s track is so well known and used, there were seven such drivers in FP1 in 22 cars.

This particularly affected Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli in his Mercedes. They both commented on the feeling behind the sport leading up to qualifying, given the all-new look for the 2026 cars.

Russell confirmed his return to form by popping his Mercedes into pole position by a fraction of a second, but equally impressively Lewis split the Mercedes to start on the front row.

Lando Norris completed the second row for McLaren, with the reigning world champion driving very nicely in a car that is still not as quick as Mercedes and has been finessed by Ferrari’s recent successful car updates in Montreal and Spain.

The grid was usually fiercely contested, and while Red Bull had the fourth fastest team Max Verstappen and Issac Hajjar, who was again the closest to Max in the team, were also close to fastest.

It is good for fans and spectators for long drag races in the first corner. The days when Ferrari had a big advantage from the start, or indeed any advantage, are gone. Mercedes and McLaren are on the fast track in this regard, although Red Bull could still shock the likes of Verstappen in Monaco and Hajjar in Spain.

Did Mercedes make the right strategy call?

Considering the race would be about tires and strategy there was no point in taking risks in the first few corners and they all duly filed through on best behaviour.

We then settled for some tire management, Charles Leclerc made up three places starting 10th after hitting the turn 4 wall in final qualifying and there was a bit of ducking and diving as Hajja in particular recovered some ground. Powering was in fashion around the outside overtake.

On lap 11 of 66, Hamilton made the first pit stop to return his soft compound starting tire.

To maintain the lead and avoid a powerful undercut by a rival flying on fresh tyres, Mercedes stopped leader Russell on the next lap. George was a bit upset as he felt he could have got more life out of the tires and increased his lead if he had known, and believes he was on a successful two-stop strategy while Lewis is now committed to a three-stopper.

Norris stopped on lap 13 and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastre stopped on lap 14, as Antonelli gave him a small but significant tire life advantage over Russell and Hamilton.

Judging from transmitted radio calls, Mercedes seemed more concerned with Norris’ relentless presence than stopping Hamilton.

Antonelli had the speed advantage to catch Russell in the second half of each tyre, but was unable to completely prevent the overtake. That’s been a theme so far this season and George needs to fix it if he wants this championship. Yet he held the all-important lead of the two and would pit again on lap 36. Antonelli was on lap 37 to hold off Norris.

Lando would hang in the top three all race, but strained behind for any real chance to catch and pass. Piastri was curiously full speed and would finish fifth, 58 seconds off the lead.

Hamilton would have won without VSC

Hamilton made his second stop early on lap 27 and was flying on the more durable tire compounds. A ‘virtual safety car’ was finally deployed on lap 40 to recover Fernando Alonso’s damaged Aston Martin just as he was an increasing threat to the two Mercs.

It suited Hamilton and Ferrari. While all your rivals are at extremely low speeds, a pitstop here costs a net 12 seconds rather than 22 at full racing pace, meaning Lewis can pit and stay ahead despite the three-stopping.

The Virtual Safety Car conveniently ended just as Lewis left the pitlane. He would certainly win his first Grand Prix for Ferrari, and impressively he went on to check out at the front and win by 19 seconds. Would he have won without saving 10 seconds on that third and final stop? It’s hard to be sure because he usually has to outrun Norris and the two Mercedes, but my feeling is that he would have won anyway, given his pace and tire advantage in the closing stages.

Antonelli eventually passed Russell, stopping his car with four laps to go. It was painful for the championship leader, and suddenly, just a week after his glorious victory in Monaco, he now leads Hamilton by 41 points and Russell by 50 points. With 399 points still available this season, nothing feels like a lead like Saturday evening.

Antonelli was on the brink of a five-second penalty for the track limit for most of the latter part of the race, and oddly, as a classified finisher but one who did not see the checkered flag, he actually received that penalty later in the race.

After Antonelli retired, the unfortunate Leclerc also had to park his Ferrari. He has had a tough time of late and needs very strong performances in the upcoming Austria and Silverstone races to re-establish himself as Hamilton now looks like the clear team leader. Lewis’ last three race results have been second, second, first.

Monaco quick fines and appeals a ‘chaos’

There were 125,000 people who attended on race day but the Spanish fans had a hard time rooting for their potential heroes. Carlos Sainz was 12th and two laps back for the Williams and, according to reports, Alonso retired his Aston Martin with 37 laps to go.

Franco Colapinto attracted a 10 second late penalty for not going fast enough under the yellow flag which dropped him to 10th place. His team-mate Pierre Gasly was seventh for the Alpine, having finished third in Monaco a week before being reinstated after an appeal, which saw his two speeding penalties overturned in that race.

It’s a very complicated and uncomfortable decision. The other drivers in Monaco paid their penalties and adjusted tactics accordingly, and Russell’s race was ruined, but as they had no race penalties nothing was retrospectively changed for them in the result.

It will now be appealed by Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull who have all lost out. Ferrari aren’t too bothered as it costs Mercedes and McLaren points. It also sets the precedent of not serving marginal in race penalties to preserve their right to compete after the race.

It’s all a mess with no easy solution. It turns out that one of the timing loops in the Monaco pit lane was 77cm shorter than calibrated so recording a whopping 60.1kph when the limit was 60kph. This has been a matter of correspondence since the first exercise, and some teams have adjusted their restrictions. There was clearly something wrong with so many uniform offences, and it is surprising that the stewards were not made aware. No doubt lessons will be learned and the story will likely continue for a while.

As a Brit and a former British F1 driver I am very proud to see the three Union Jack flags on the podium for Hamilton, Russell and Norris.

Lewis, 41, was the oldest winner of an F1 race since Jacques Braham in 1970, 19 years after his first win for McLaren in 2007. That’s dedication and staying power for you.

Ferrari and McLaren will continue to successfully develop their cars and power units, as will Mercedes, and I have no doubt now that we are in for a wide-open and unpredictable season.

Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on June 26-28, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime