Hamilton’s first Ferrari won a statement for him and the rest of F1

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Hamilton’s first Ferrari won a statement for him and the rest of F1

Lewis Hamilton’s historic first win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was a statement for himself and the rest of Formula 1, as well as the world watching.

In response to doubts, Hamilton admitted that he sometimes wondered if he could still perform at the peak of the games he had played in.

It justified his decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari.

And it proved that Ferrari can return to winning ways after a difficult period for them as it was for the driver who took his first victory since Mexico in October 2024.

The race saw an active safety car that gave Hamilton a cheap pit stop and ensured he would get ahead of Mercedes drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

But Hamilton and Ferrari didn’t need luck. Mercedes admitted after the race that the seven-time champion could have beaten them anyway. He would just have to pass their cars on the road to do it. Such was his speed on the new tires, that there was no doubt that he would have won.

‘I let it get to me’

For Hamilton it was a moment of redemption after a first season at Ferrari that left him asking questions, others questioning him.

It was painful to see him in the points last week, struggling with the confusion caused by the lack of speed. He called the season a “nightmare”. He called himself “nothing”. He suggested that Ferrari find another driver.

On Sunday, after drowning his team, in tears on the platform, he revealed what he went through to return to his place of residence.

“After a year like last year,” he said, “there were times when I was like, ‘Sheesh, maybe it’s true that, you know, when you get to a certain point, you lose it.’ But I proved to you that you don’t. You always have it and it just takes work.”

The criticism he received hurt him, he admits.

“I mean I’m only human,” she said. “So, there are times when I see things and certainly there are times when I let them come to me and go deep.”

He left for winter, shut down social media, and began to repair himself.

“The training I put in was the hardest I’ve ever been through, to keep myself in good shape,” said the 41-year-old, “because I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, I carried that for months.

“The only things I know is never second guess yourself, never doubt yourself. You have to keep believing in yourself in the end. And those are the things I was able to get back into my mind. I’ve opened my mind so far, to get back to where I was.”

Hamilton is only the fourth driver in 40 years to win an F1 race since 1958, following Graham Hill in 1969, Sir Jack Brabham in 1970 and Nigel Mansell in 1994.

New rules, new mind, new girlfriend

Lewis Hamilton’s girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, attended the Monaco Grand Prix last week [Getty Images]

Few people know Hamilton better than Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal with whom Hamilton won six of his seven titles, during which time they became friends.

Hamilton’s revival this year, Wolff said, is partly down to the work he’s done, which includes new cars this year that fit him better than those of the past four years, which had a different aerodynamic design.

Wolf even said he thinks Hamilton’s new relationship with Kim Kardashian also played a role.

“Hard work,” said Wolff, “and I think that this is a car that may be different from the cars of the previous era in terms of jumpiness, intensity, maybe it’s not easy to feel. And this goes back to normal driving in terms of at least the aerodynamics and the power of the car.

“Obviously the engine management is completely different, but you can see he’s driving really hard. The energy in the team looks good between him and his race engineer.

“I saw him on the platform, on the platform. I mean, that face shows me that he is very happy.

“Maybe a girlfriend helps. It helped me to have a partner so that you have a stable family life, and they seem to really get along. I think it’s all those factors that combine the emotional and personal and professional point of view. If they’re in a good place, you win.”

Hamilton looks to be a different driver this year. Last year, he struggled compared to his teammate Charles Leclerc, who is known as one of the fastest drivers on the grid, especially in qualifying.

Hamilton outscored Leclerc only seven times last year in all qualifying times, over 24 grands prix and six sprints. And Leclerc was 0.15 seconds faster on average.

Hamilton was also beaten by George Russell for two of the three seasons from 2022 to 2024.

This year, he is looking more at home. Ground-effect aerodynamics, and rigid vehicles, are consigned to history. These new ones are similar to the ones Hamilton had great success with.

In wins this year, Hamilton is up 6-4 on Leclerc and on average there is nothing to choose between them.

‘Shock at Ferrari’s plan’

Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur holding hands — Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur first worked together in Formula 3 [Getty Images]

Hamilton seems to have once again had a negative impact on Ferrari. He wanted changes for the team, in his car in particular, but also in attitude and style.

In doing so, his voice as many champions was added to what team principal Frederic Vasseur, who was instrumental in bringing Hamilton to Maranello, had already said.

“My arrival scared the show a lot because I talk a lot,” said Hamilton.

“If I see something that I don’t think is right, or I push too hard, that’s the core of who I am and I don’t get tired of it.

“And I think it’s not easy to be in the news when you’re messing with the whole organization, you know, and the private culture is set in a certain way.”

Vasseur said: “Together, we are developing. We know each other, at least Ferrari and Lewis, we know each other a little bit each day. And it’s all a matter of details.

“I consider it a very good result, a very good result. A good reward for everyone, for Lewis, for the Maranello team, for the team on the road. But it’s not that the situation is completely different compared to last week.”

Vasseur refused to take any credit for Hamilton’s rebuild this season.

“I have nothing in this,” said the Frenchman. “It’s more than Lewis himself. He was able to come back after a difficult weekend. He was able to come back and do a complete reset. To keep pushing, to keep coming to the factory on Tuesday morning.

“This commitment is a great support. The appearance of world champions, even more, I would say. It was also a great motivation for everyone in the factory.”

‘Hamilton’s train could be very difficult to stop’

Hamilton’s victory, in convincing fashion, inevitably raised questions about what he and Ferrari could go on to achieve.

The team entered this year with high hopes that the new chassis and engine regulations could give them a chance to get back to the front.

So Mercedes’ six wins in a row at the start of the year, and the obvious fact that Ferrari’s engine was lagging behind the best, was an unwelcome surprise.

The Ferrari car was as good as anything in the corners – perhaps the best – but that wasn’t enough to compete with the Mercedes.

Barcelona changed all that. Ferrari launched its second major upgrade of the year, to follow the first in the fourth race of the season in Miami.

And on a track where power isn’t such an important factor in lap time, it made a significant difference.

Hamilton was left behind by Antonelli in Monaco last week, at a track where power is less important. But this time he was the fastest driver in the race.

The victory – which coincided with Antonelli’s first retirement of the year – put Hamilton 41 points clear of the Italian, and extended his lead over Russell to nine.

And under F1 engine regulations, Ferrari have been given two upgrades this season, Mercedes only one. The first could come, it is said, at the start of the next race in Austria.

Hamilton has been chasing that elusive eighth title since missing out on the Abu Dhabi 2021 race. Achieving it with Ferrari would be one of the biggest stories F1 has ever seen. Can he do it?

“The way you started the year, I didn’t think so,” said Hamilton. “I never thought about eight.

“Mercedes came out of the gate with an explosive car, both drivers did an excellent job. We know we have the power.”

“There will be tracks that we will go to and long, long tracks where that makes it even more difficult.

“But we have a very good car and if we continue to add performance and can go through the corners faster, maybe we can reduce that deficit until we improve or until we close the gap in power.”

Wolff said: “I better not fight him for the title because I know if he can. If he smells blood, he goes. I have seen it for many years when suddenly the Lewis Hamilton train started moving and it was very difficult to stop it.”