Barcelona-Catalunya GP: Lewis Hamilton claims first Grand Prix win for Ferrari as Kimi Antonelli retires late on

Lewis Hamilton claimed his first race victory for Ferrari after an aggressive strategy paid off at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as championship leader Kimi Antonelli dramatically retired late on.

Hamilton drove superbly in a high tyre wear race to take his first Grand Prix victory since his last triumph for Mercedes in July 2024, with George Russell taking second from Lando Norris in the first all-British podium since 1968.

Mercedes had no answer to Hamilton as the Ferrari driver capitalised on the fortunate timing of a mid-race Virtual Safety Car and used his tyre prowess to become the seventh oldest race-winner in F1 history at 41 years old.

Smart decision making from Ferrari to effectively undercut Russell at the second round of pit stops, coupled with Hamilton's driving, provided the opportunity to win and the seven-time world champion took it by running away in the last part of the Grand Prix on fresher tyres.

An emotional Hamilton said on the radio: "You've helped me achieve this dream and I can't thank you enough. Thanks for everyone pushing so hard back at home.

"I'm so proud of you. To my family, I love you. To my fans, thank you for continuing to remind me who I am. I couldn't have done this without you."

Hamilton's 106th career F1 win means he's 41 points behind Antonelli in the Drivers' Championship after the Mercedes driver retired with four laps remaining as his car shut down when running in second.

Antonelli had just overtaken team-mate Russell after a dicey battle but the latter closes his championship deficit to 50 points.

Norris, who, like Russell, has failed to score points at the last two Grands Prix, claimed his second podium of the season as McLaren had a more competitive showing than the last two rounds.

Charles Leclerc suffered a late steering issue when on course for a top five result as his disappointing run of form continued.

Max Verstappen finished 40 seconds behind Hamilton on his way to fourth with Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in sixth, behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri in fifth.

Alpine enjoyed their third double points result of the season with Pierre Gasly in seventh and Franco Colapinto in eighth, while Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad also scored points for a second successive weekend in ninth and 10th.

More to follow...

Formula 1's European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix on June 26-28, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime