Saudi Arabia Ready for World Cup Opener against Uruguay, Donis Says
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- Lewis Hamilton secured his first victory for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix, ending Kimi Antonelli's winning streak.
- George Russell and Lando Norris completed an all-British podium, marking the first such occurrence since 1968.
- Championship leader Antonelli was forced to retire due to a technical issue late in the race.
Lewis Hamilton achieved his first victory driving for Ferrari on Sunday at the Barcelona-Catalunya Formula One Grand Prix, breaking championship leader Kimi Antonelli's five-race winning streak. The seven-time world champion finished ahead of teammates George Russell and Lando Norris, marking the first all-British podium since the 1968 United States Grand Prix.
It's not over, that's for sure.
Hamilton, 41, reduced Antonelli's championship lead to 41 points with his first win in nearly two years. "It's not over, that's for sure," Hamilton commented on the championship race. Mercedes polesitter Russell finished 19 seconds behind Hamilton. "You've helped me so much to achieve this dream, I cannot thank you enough," Hamilton expressed over team radio. "To the fans, thank you for reminding me who I am. I couldn't have done this without you."
Russell, who was the pre-season favorite, had been experiencing a run of bad luck but benefited from Antonelli's late retirement to close the gap to the teenager to 53 points. "Good to be back on the podium and have a clean race, but Ferrari were mighty today so we need to keep pushing," said Russell. "The last stints were difficult, but it's good to be back here. The pace today was insane from Lewis, they are coming I think."
You've helped me so much to achieve this dream, I cannot thank you enough. To the fans, thank you for reminding me who I am. I couldn't have done this without you.
Under track temperatures reaching 51 degrees Celsius, Hamilton executed a successful three-pit-stop strategy, which fortuitously coincided with a virtual safety car deployment. Ferrari's upgraded car appeared to provide Hamilton with sufficient pace for his 106th career victory. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished fourth, followed by McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar in the other Red Bull. Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, recovered from a qualifying crash that put him in 10th place to finish sixth before retiring.
Good to be back on the podium and have a clean race, but Ferrari were mighty today so we need to keep pushing. The last stints were difficult, but it's good to be back here. The pace today was insane from Lewis, they are coming I think.
Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.