Lewis Hamilton: Road to Victory in Barcelona
- therookiereporters
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
It’s no secret that since Lewis joined Ferrari in 2025 he has had his fair share of challenges. With the 2026 regulation change, Ferrari have been able to capitalise and propel to the front of the grid with the Briton but how exactly have they reached the top step in Barcelona?
Torrid Twenty-Five
2025 was Lewis’ first season in scarlet and it went far from plan. Following Ferrari’s success in 2024 with the team finishing second in the constructors in Abu Dhabi, it was assumed that momentum would continue into the next season. Boy, were we all wrong with that prediction.
The Australian Grand Prix was quickly upon us with many fans eager to see Lewis fighting at the front of the field. This didn’t go to plan with the seven-time world champion finishing 10th and taking just one championship point. Things went from bad to worse in China with the Tifosi getting a double disqualification.
The following four Grand Prixs were more hopeful with points finishes, and a fourth place in Imola saw Hamilton gain his confidence once more. Hamilton managed to get an 11-point placing streak (which included two more fourth places in Austria and his home race - Silverstone) until a P12 finish in Hungary. During the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, teammate Charles Leclerc took Pole leaving Lewis to state he was “just useless” in qualifying and maintaining only 12th position in the race.
The Netherlands was the next on the calendar and was a race to forget for the seven-time champion as he got his first DNF with Ferrari after crashing into the barrier at a slippery turn 3 just 23 laps into the Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s home race in Monza put pressure on the team to perform for their loyal fans and luckily for them, Lewis managed a points finish but only in sixth while Charles just missed the podium in fourth.
Hamilton was back collecting points for himself and the team, with him missing another podium in America. The ups and downs continued with a DNF in Brazil - the country he feels is his second home race; that knocked his confidence down once more. Lewis then scored in two out of the three final races to finish sixth overall in the drivers' championship by scoring in 19 out of 24 races.
A Promising Season Start
2026 saw the introduction of new regulations and thus a new era upon us all. Ferrari has seemingly been one of the two teams (besides Mercedes) that have cracked the code. Down under, the team nearly scored a double podium with Charles third and Lewis fourth. The second race of the year was in China and Lewis scored his long-awaited podium alongside his old teammate Russell in P2 and Kimi Antonelli who got his maiden win.
Sir Hamilton went on to have back-to-back sixth places before back-to-back silver trophies in Canada and Monaco with Antonelli on the top step beside him as he did prior in Shanghai. Barcelona was a strong weekend for the Brit: having missed Free Practice One he managed to qualify second, narrowly missing out on pole by 64 hundredths of a second to George Russell.
At lights out, Lewis started on soft tyres however they quickly lost grip with the track temperature averaging 30 degrees celsius. Ferrari gambled the three-stop strategy and this enabled Lewis to extend his on-track margin between the Silver Arrow of Russell to nearly 20 seconds at the fall of the chequered flag. 686 days after the Belgium Grand Prix in 2024, Lewis Hamilton clinched his 106th Grand Prix Win and his first with Ferrari. The 25 points he took home elevated him to second in the championship with a total of 115 points just 41 behind leader Kimi Antonelli. We are sure he will go on to win more races this year and continue his success this season so far.
Article written by Alice Seager ©️Alice Seager 2026
