Scuderia Ferrari HP exit the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend with two wildly conflicting emotions. On one side of the garage, we have immense glory and celebration, while on the other, frustration continues to boil over. An overall successful weekend for the team, this race weekend will be a highlight this season.
Victory in Red: Hamilton is Back
If there was ever any doubt about Lewis Hamilton’s place at Ferrari, this weekend silenced the critics. The 7-time world champion has had a strong run so far this season and his first win with the team was only a matter of time. He and the team entered the Spanish circuit off what was a positive P2 finish at the Monaco Grand Prix. Continuing their pace, the Brit lined up on the front row alongside George Russell after qualifying.
Sundays race was nothing short of driver and team harmony, and they planned everything to perfection. The team opted early to the 3 stop strategy, something that, executed wrong, could ruin their race. Hamilton drove an incredible first two stints, opening up a 20-second lead over both Mercedes’ after his second stop. On lap 40, Fernando Alonso came to a stop on the circuit, bringing out a safety car. This became a critical opportunity for Ferrari to pit Hamilton, and the team pulled it off beautifully.
Hamilton exited the pit lane still in P1 and importantly, on a fresh set of hard tyres. What followed was pure pace from the Ferrari. He came home nearly 20-seconds clear of Russell to take his first win in Red. The champion is no stranger to victory at this circuit, now beating Micheal Schumacher with 7 wins at the circuit to his 6. Additionally, both Hamilton and Schumacher welcomed their first Ferrari win at this iconic circuit.
Hamilton now sits at 106 career wins, and with Kimi Antonelli’s late race retirement, he edges closer to him in the championship standings, currently P2.
No Harmony for Leclerc after Monaco
On the other side of the garage, Charles Leclerc did not share the same positives. His season, unlike his teammates’, has not started off as smooth or successful as hoped. Last race weekend, Leclerc suffered an unfortunate DNF from P2 at his home race. While largely technical issues rather than driver error, Charles luck has been running thin.
Barcelona started off well for the Monegasque. Free practice showed there was pace potential around the circuit, so hopes remained high that this would be the redemption he needed. However, during Q3, with about 8 minutes on the clock, he suffered a loss of traction and crashed off turn 4, brining the session to a halt. For Sunday’s race, he lined up 10th on the grid, needing a strong recovery drive.
The recovery was going well. The pace was strong and Leclerc sat comfortably in the constant battle for P5 alongside Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Disaster came once more for him however, as he was seen pulling is car to a stand still during the closing stages of the race.
“It’s not only power steering, in general I had no breaks, no power steering, no shifts, so I guess it’s something with the hydraulic there” – Charles Leclerc told media after his race
Two extremes in the Ferrari Garage
As a team, the improvements that Ferrari are making are clearly working. So far, their 2026 stint has been competitive, with progress happening each race weekend. For Hamilton, the team seems to be working in good harmony. Clear communication and execution during the race produced the result they’ve been hunting for. Going forward, Ferrari need to maintain this with their driver.
On the other side, serious conversations need to happen with Leclerc and the team. Barcelona saw Ferrari bring 8 upgrades to the car, and despite that, he saw no true improvement in performance. As Leclerc has recently committed more years with Ferrari, it’s disappointing that they so far have not had the success they want together.
Ahead of Austria next week, it will be all eyes on Ferrari. The question will be whether Hamilton can replicate his glory in Barcelona, and whether the team are able to fix the issues present with Leclerc and his car. The gap to Mercedes in the standings sits at 72 points – a large gap, but with both drivers in form, can easily be bridged.
“We start over again in Austria in a fortnight’s time, approaching the weekend in the same way we did here” – Team Principal Fred Vasseur
