Winners and losers from a cathartic Barcelona F1 Grand Prix
Motorsport.com • • general
Key Points:
- Lewis Hamilton secured his 106th Grand Prix win and his first victory with Ferrari, marking a major career revival after a difficult 2025 season and contributing to Ferrari's strong performance in tyre management during the hot Barcelona race.
- Mercedes faced reliability issues as Kimi Antonelli retired with power unit trouble, causing a significant championship points loss and highlighting ongoing reliability concerns for the team amid Ferrari's resurgence.
- George Russell struggled with pace and tyre management but benefited from Antonelli's retirement to finish well, maintaining his lead in the championship despite a challenging race.
- Fernando Alonso hinted that the 2026 Barcelona race might be his last at the venue due to the calendar gap until 2028, and his difficult weekend ended with a last-place qualifying and a retirement due to a battery issue.
- Alpine exceeded expectations by securing a double points finish despite poor qualifying, with Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto capitalizing on race attrition and strategy, while Audi's Nico Hulkenberg suffered a bizarre retirement caused by debris hitting the car's ERS kill switch.
