Lewis Hamilton has hailed his first Grand Prix victory at the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya GP as “an incredibly special moment.”
Hamilton twice attempted to undercut his ex Mercedes teammate, George Russell which saw him snatch the lead on lap 38, only to then be afforded a cheaper third stop at the end of lap 41 under a virtual safety car due to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso having stopped at Turn 9 on lap 40.
The seven-time champion subsequently went on to record his first Grand Prix victory as a Ferrari driver, having taken his maiden sprint win at the 2025 Chinese Sprint in his first campaign as a Ferrari driver, taking his win total to 107 victories combined across Grands Prix and Sprints.
Post-race, Hamilton spoke to ferrarif1.com about how sweet his winning moment was after various highs and lows throughout his time at Ferrari.
“This is an incredibly special moment. Winning my first race with Ferrari is something I’ve dreamt about since I was a child, and to finally achieve it feels incredible. There were moments last year when this moment felt almost impossible, but I’m so grateful to Fred for believing in me and everyone there for making me feel so at home.”
The seven-time champion proceeded to praise Ferrari for their graft this year to cut their deficit to Mercedes from upgrades to pit-stop speed and strategy.
“We’ve been working so hard all year and so many things have changed over the past months, and today is the result of all that effort. I’m so proud of everyone, both here at the track and back in Maranello. The upgrades we brought this weekend performed exactly as we hoped, the car felt great, and the team executed everything perfectly.
“The pitstops were fantastic and every detail was handled brilliantly. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience many special moments in my career, but this one is different.
“Ferrari has the greatest fans in the world and seeing their passion, their energy and their support makes this victory even more meaningful. This is a day I’ll never forget, and I hope it’s the first of many wins that we can celebrate together.”