Barcelona-Catalunya GP: Lewis Hamilton targets ‘perfect job’ to battle George Russell, Kimi Antonelli and claim first Ferrari F1 win | F1 News

Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari need a “perfect job” to challenge Mercedes at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, but is not ruling out the chance to claim a first win in red.

Hamilton was just 0.064s behind pole-sitter George Russell – the closest he has been to the top qualifying spot since joining Ferrari in 2025 – but beat championship leader Kimi Antonelli to split the two Mercedes.

It continued Hamilton’s strong run after back-to-back second-place finishes at the last two rounds in Montreal and Monaco.

The seven-time world champion took the sprint pole and won in China last year but is yet to win a grand prix for Ferrari.

“A lot of work has to be done to get ahead of these guys (Mercedes). It will take a perfect job from all of us to fight for the win against these guys,” he said. Sky Sports F1.

“Tire management will be important. It’s always here, especially when the track is 50 degrees. On Friday we were sliding around, the most I felt here. And the degradation was double what we expected.

“But the car is in a better place and I hope that means we have less degradation. I’m fighting two Mercedes which will be difficult tactically.

“It’s a long way into turn one so we need a good start. Of all starts you have to get it right, so we can get the car where it needs to be.”

In all 35 previous Formula 1 races at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the winner has come from the front row. However, the 600m race at turn one is the most exciting on the calendar, as proved last year when Russell started third and overtook Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Ferrari had a significant advantage at the start of the year thanks to their smaller turbos but Mercedes caught up. Still, Hamilton says the “fight is on” and hopes he can match the Silver Arrows with raw pace.

“I’ll let it go! What we’re doing is clear, we’re improving as a team,” he said.

“Obviously, these guys (Mercedes) seem to have extra in their pockets. Every time we come up with an upgrade, they’re still ahead, so we have some work ahead of us.

“I don’t know when they’ll come up with something else again, maybe next race or whatever. It’s going to be swapping and changing, but it’s great for us, it’s the closest we’ve been in terms of pace in qualifying.”

Mercedes wary of Hamilton threat

Mercedes are unbeaten heading into Sunday this year with Antonelli winning five straight races to establish a 66-point lead in the drivers’ championship over Hamilton and a 68-point advantage over Russell.

Team principal Toto Wolff noted Hamilton had made a small error in his Q3 run that likely cost him pole position, and expected the Ferrari driver to be a problem in the race.

“My old friend… when people doubted if he still had the speed, I always said if he’s in the right frame of mind and the car suits him, he’s going to be counted,” Wolff said. Sky Sports F1.

“You have to count him out and that’s what he did in qualifying. In the end he’s a tenth-and-a-half quicker than us if there’s not a small mistake.

“I think it’s going to play into the tire degradation and we were pretty good in the long run on Friday – but it all depends on the start. If Lewis is ahead after the start it will be difficult for everyone, so I’m interested to see how it ends.”

It is possible that the top three will find themselves going into the tight first corner three times where there have been several crashes over the years.

“The slipstream is going to be a lot stronger (without straight line mode at the start), so it’s so important to get a good start and then try to go clean into turn one,” Antonelli said.

“From that point, it’s trying to play the long game. The tires here are very fragile and we can see a lot of stops during the race because they don’t last very long.”

Indeed, it could be a three-stop race which is unusual in modern F1 but the combination of hot temperatures and long corners means tire degradation is very high.

Mercedes have the advantage of splitting tactics with their drivers, while Charles Leclerc’s crash means Hamilton won’t be able to cover either Silver Arrow.

Russell, who has failed to score points in the last two grands prix, said: “There will be many opportunities in the race. But to be honest, I just want to see the checkered flag and go to the end of the race!”

Sky Sports F1’s Barcelona-Catalunya GP schedule

Sunday 14 June
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: Porsche Supercup
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP Build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: Barcelona-Catalonia Grand Prix*
4pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP Reaction: Checkered flag
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

*Also on Sky Sports main events

Formula 1 is in Spain for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with live coverage on Sky Sports F1. Sunday’s race starts at 2pm. Stream Sky Sports now – no contract, cancel anytime