The teams and drivers returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the second time this season, having completed a private five-day shakedown ahead of pre-season testing. This time it was for the FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES GRAN PREMIO DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA 2026, previously called the Spanish Grand Prix.
George Russell had a solid start to maintain the lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who kept Kimi Antonelli at bay. Antonelli was under pressure from Lando Norris into the first corner, but managed to keep the position. The gamble for some drivers to start on the quicker soft tyres didn’t really seem to pan out.
It was a relatively calm opening stint in what was predicted to be a two-stop strategy. Isack Hadjar provided most of the entertainment, having dropped to P13 after a slow start off the line. He made some good overtaking maneuvers in some corners that don’t typically see overtakes.
Hamilton was the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 12, taking a new set of hard tyres. Mercedes responded by pitting Russell the following lap and Antonelli a couple of laps after that.
On lap 28, Hamilton returned to the pits to exchange his hard tyres for a set of medium tyres, cementing himself into a three-stop strategy. He rejoined just behind Oscar Paistri, but made quick work of the McLaren driver. Critically, Mercedes did not respond to the pit stop, hoping to extend their stint to stay on the two-stop strategy.
At the front of the field, Russell lost some time slicing through traffic, bringing Antonelli into the picture. The Mercedes duo battled hard for the lead of the race, losing a little bit of time. Antonelli was pushing hard, using up all of his track limits warnings, but still not letting off. All the while, Hamilton was lapping more than two seconds per lap quicker.
Mercedes stayed out until lap 37, covering off an undercut threat from Norris, who had pitted a lap earlier. Russell pitted first from the lead, and Antonelli did the same on the following lap. Both drivers rejoined ahead of Norris, but behind Hamilton, although the Ferrari driver still had to make a third and final pit stop. It seemed like Mercedes would be on track for another victory in 2026.
But in Formula One, you should expect the unexpected. The unexpected happened on lap 40 when Fernando Alonso parked his Aston Martin in turn nine with a mechanical failure. The virtual safety car was deployed, but Hamilton had already passed the pit entry. He had to trundle all the way around to the pit lane, all the time hoping the VSC would last. It did, allowing Ferrari to pit Hamilton for a new set of hard tyres to bring him to the end of the grand prix without losing the lead.
Hamilton was briefly noted for a potential yellow flag violation, but the incident was reviewed with no further investigation. This left him free to lead the race.
Once the racing resumed, Hamilton built the gap out front, leaving the two Mercedes drivers to battle amongst themselves.
Antonelli was right on the back of his teammate, with only five laps remaining in the race. He stormed into the first corner to take P2 in the race. Russell attempted to squeeze him into the first corner to defend and then tried to fight back in the corners that followed, but could not retake the position.
But Antonelli’s P2 run was short-lived as the youngster pulled over to the side of the circuit after only a lap. It was another power unit failure for Mercedes, leaving Russell to take the second step of the podium. The virtual safety car was deployed to allow marshals to recover the stricken Mercedes.
Coincidentally, Charles Leclerc also suffered a power steering failure that sent him skipping across the gravel in the second corner. He limped back to the pit lane to retire. It was a disappointing weekend for Leclerc, who started the race on the back foot in P10 after crashing in qualifying.
With the late VSC and a huge gap, no one had any hope of catching Lewis Hamilton, who crossed the finish line to take his first grand prix victory with Ferrari. George Russell took home the trophy of second place, and Lando Norris secured his second grand prix podium in 2026 to round out an all-British podium. This is the first all-British podium since 1968.
The European leg of the calendar pushes on, with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring now in sight. Everyone will have a week to recover before racing action resumes on the weekend of June 28.
| 1 | K. Antonelli | 156 |  | |
| 2 | L. Hamilton | 115 | -41 | |
| 3 | G. Russell | 106 | -50 | |
| 4 | C. Leclerc | 75 | -81 | |
| 5 | L. Norris | 73 | -83 |  |
| 1 | Mercedes | 262 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 190 | -72 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 141 | -121 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 89 | -173 | |
| 5 | Alpine | 60 | -202 | |
