Hamilton says Barcelona win beyond wildest dreams

Lewis Hamilton says he was struggling to find the words to express how much his first victory for Ferrari meant to him after winning the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion, in his second season with the team, won from Mercedes' George Russell and McLaren's Lando Norris.

That made it the first all-British podium in F1 since the 1968 United States Grand Prix, won by Sir Jackie Stewart from Graham Hill and John Surtees.

Hamilton had a difficult first season with Ferrari, failing to finish on the podium in any of the 24 grands prix, though he did win the sprint race in China.

He said: "How do you find the right words to express an emotion that's beyond your wildest dreams?"

The 41-year-old was on course to beat Russell and Kimi Antonelli anyway even before a virtual safety car period mid-race ensured he could pit and return to the race in the lead and not have to fight back past the Mercedes drivers.

Hamilton said that as he embraced his Ferrari team after the race, his "heart was exploding with joy".

Championship leader Antonelli retired from second place with four laps to go, promoting Norris to third place.

Hamilton's win and Antonelli's retirement meant the Italian's lead in the drivers' standings narrowed to 41 points.

Both Russell and world champion Norris paid tribute to Hamilton.

Norris said: "Pretty cool. It's pretty special. It's nice. And with Ferrari again, it's even cooler to kind of see that partnership come through and kind of pay dividends.

"You could see how much it meant to him. At the same time, he's obviously had a lot of people talk badly about him and he's got a lot of crap online from a lot of people, so it's nice that he can stick the middle finger up to all of them."

Russell, who spent three seasons as team-mate to Hamilton at Mercedes before his move to Ferrari for 2025, said: "We both sort of grew up as fans of Lewis and, you know, for myself, spending three years together in Mercedes, so much respect.

"It was a big, bold move to join Ferrari, and to see it now paying off for him is very special to see given the magnitude of the decision.

"To be standing up here, three Brits, first time in 60 years, it's a special feeling."

The victory was a moment of redemption for Hamilton, who went through personal and professional torment last year.

Several times last year Hamilton admitted to doubting himself as he struggled to come to terms with team-mate Charles Leclerc.

He finished 86 points behind Leclerc in the 2025 championship.

Hamilton said: "I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari. I truly believed in what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together. And I know it started out with lots of excitement and then lots of doubt and lots of negativity that followed through a whole year.

"My fans really rescued me last year, my family also, and friends that stuck with me through it all.

"Starting into a new season, a new year, lots and lots of changes enabled in the background me to get to this position that I'm in today. I just feel a lot of gratitude, a lot of pride, and very, very proud of the people that I work with.

"They're so passionate and have so much humility and they are so kind. And, you know, seeing them sing the national anthem today was wow, was an incredible feeling, man. Just the best."