REBORN IN RED
The Barcelona race week opened with a slight twist, a throw back to last weekend – The Monaco Grand Prix. After crossing the chequered flag in P3, Pierre Gasly was knocked down with a combined 10 second penalty after being deemed to have exceeded the pit lane speed limit twice. BWT Alpine Formula One Team confirmed they requested a Right Of Review following the decision form the FIA.
3 days after the spectacle, the headliners came out ‘Pierre Gasly’s third place has been reinstated’. Accepteing Alpines argument which was backed up by data, that the Frenchman never exceed the 60/km. Gasly now holds 8th place in the driver’s world championship.
FP1 in Spain saw some new faces behind the wheel, with 6 young drivers completing their mandatory free practices. Highest on the list, out of the 6, was Leonardo Fornaroli who piloted Lando Norris’ Mclaren for the hour, slotting the car into P5. As a proud Beganovic fan, I was happy to see Dino drive Hamilton’s Ferrari into P8. For our current F1 drivers, George claimed P1, Oscar P2 and Charles in 3rd.
FP2 shifted slightly as Norris’ claimed P1, Piastri featured in the top 3 but was split by Russell in the Mercades.
Saturdays FP3 served as the final dress rehearsal, and George Russell used it to re-establish himself as the weekends benchmark. The Mclaren’s still looked competitive, Oscar taking P2 and Lando P4.
By the end of FP3, the narrative seemed to have set: Mercedes versus McLaren at the sharp end, with Ferrari and Red Bull poised to punish any misstep.
Qualifying turned into high stakes; Russell converted his practice form into pole position. Lewis Hamilton snatched P2 for Ferrari while championship leader, Kimi Antoneli had to settle for third. Behind the top 3 was, Norris in P4, Verstappen P5, Hadjar in P6. Piastri lined up 7th, ahead of Lawson and Hulkenberg. Charles Leclerc was left in P10 after ending up in the barriers.
It was a session that reinforced Mercedes’ authority—but also hinted that Ferrari and McLaren had enough pace to turn Sunday into a strategic and psychological battle.
Onto race day where history was made, Lewis Hamilton producing a vintage drive to win the 2026 Barcelona Grand Prix for Ferrari. Starting in P2, he shadowed Russell in the opening stages, managing his tyres and waiting for the race to come to him. The sliver arrows initially controlled the tempo but as the stints unfolded, it was clear Ferrari’s race pace and Hamilton himself were on a mission.
Towards the closing stages, Antonelli and Leclerc both retired due to mechanical issues – this opened the door for Lando who snatched P3 off of Kimi.
Verstappen climbed to 4th, after a lonely race and Piastri completed the top 5.
But the day was owned by Hamilton, who has now become the 41st Ferrari F1 race winner.
My jaw was dropped when Nico Rosberg held the post race interview, a rare moment of the ex-best friends in the same space and actually communicating.
Lewis was emotional on the top step of the podium as the British national anthem played –stood next to both Russell and Norris’ making this the first UK/British podium since 1968!
What was your favourite moment over the weekend? Tell us @pitlanepresss !
See you all in Austria!
With Love, T x
