F1 in Spain: An old-fashioned strategy fight can still be thrilling

The seven-time World Champion suffered a serious loss of form with the introduction of ground effect cars in 2022. Those cars generated downforce mostly from the shape of their underfloor (rather than their wings and diffuser) and had very limited suspension setups. It’s fair to say that Hamilton never gelled with them. The previous year, he had won eight races, taking his career tally to 103. He didn’t win a race at all in 2022 or 2023, although he did take victory at the British Grand Prix in 2024, then inherited the win in Belgium two races later when George Russell was disqualified after the fact. In 2025, Hamilton left Mercedes, where he’d won six of his seven championships, for the challenge of racing for Ferrari. But his results in the ground effect Ferrari were even worse than they were in the ground effect Mercedes, and by the end of the season, plenty of critics were asking if it was time for the driver to retire. Hamilton started on soft tires, unlike the medium-shod cars around him, and committed to the three-stop early, pitting on lap 11. Immediately, he started using the tire advantage to good effect, and, seeing his sector times, other teams called their drivers to the pits in response. Russell stopped on lap 12 and stayed ahead of Hamilton, who pitted again on lap 27. Russell kept the lead until he made his second stop on lap 36, battling with his own teammate Antonelli until then, with the pair losing time hand over fist to Hamilton. Antonelli stopped from the lead on lap 37, at which point Hamilton took first place and kept it until the end. His third stop should have set up the prospect of watching him have to battle past Lando Norris’ McLaren and then both Mercedes, albeit with enough of a tire offset to most likely make his way back to the lead. But fate made things a little simpler. Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin stopped on track, and the virtual safety car period lasted just long enough for Hamilton to get in and out of the pits without losing a position. Rather than slow down and cruise to a win, Hamilton maintained his pace, finishing almost 20 seconds ahead of Russell.