Lewis Hamilton achieved an “impossible dream” by claiming his first victory for Ferrari at the Barcelona GP.

Strong pace throughout, an aggressive strategy, and a well-timed Virtual Safety Car combined to see Hamilton take his first grand prix win for Ferrari, and the 106th of his career.

Lewis Hamilton secures first Ferrari victory after Barcelona upgrade breakthrough

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After a difficult first season with the Scuderia, Hamilton had been edging closer to a race win with podiums in Canada and Monaco.

A significant upgrade package for the team in Barcelona proved enough to push him over the edge, delivering Hamilton his first win since the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.

“I started out a dream last year, which seemed almost impossible during my time last year,” Hamilton said.

“But we never gave up hope, and the team just continued to lift me up.

“We made so many changes, and we made so many improvements.”

That included a change of engineer, with Carlo Santi stepping in to replace Ricardo Adami ahead of the F1 2026 campaign.

The pair gelled quickly, with Hamilton calling out Santi for specific praise following his second place in Canada.

The Italian then joined a tearful Hamilton on the podium to celebrate their first win together.

“This one’s something else,” Hamilton said when asked where it ranked among his other victories.

“I watched Ferrari have all that success when I was younger, watching it on TV.

“As I’ve been racing here, I’d always watch the screens and wonder what it’d be like to win in that car, and it’s come.

“Everyone worked so hard for it, everyone truly deserves it.

“I am forever grateful to them, and this is just the first, I hope, of many.”

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The performance comes after many had begun to write off the seven-time champion.

Now 41, he was out-paced by George Russell during their time together at Mercedes before Charles Leclerc had the upper hand when Hamilton switched to Ferrari last season.

More recently however he’s been rejuvenated, with his Barcelona GP win proof of his enduring pace.

“I think just working my way back to my centre, and I’ve got great prep,” he explained of his current form.

“I’ve trained so hard to be here today. There’s so much work that I’m doing in the background.

“But also, again, the team are giving me that confidence with the changes that we’ve made, believing in and trusting the decisions and the things that I’ve asked for.

“We’re slowly starting to see this all come together, and you know, I guess I’m just happy in my life.

“I’m in a good, good place. I love doing what I do. There’s no greater feeling than racing a Formula 1 car.”

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