Lewis Hamilton clinched his first victory with Ferrari at the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix, and called the moment one of the most special in his career. The Briton stated that winning for the Italian team had been a childhood dream and underscored the importance of the result after months of intense work.
The triumph marks a milestone for Hamilton and also for Ferrari, which had been experiencing ups and downs in recent seasons. Beyond the victory, the team saw the new components introduced to the car deliver the expected performance throughout the weekend.
“This is an incredibly special moment. Winning my first race with Ferrari is something I have dreamed of since I was a child, and finally achieving this is an amazing feeling,” the driver said. He also thanked the team principal, Fred Vasseur, and all the members of Ferrari for the support received since his arrival.
According to the seven-time champion, the result is a direct consequence of the effort put in over the year: “We have worked very hard throughout the season and many things changed in the last few months. Today is the result of all that work,” he said. Hamilton also praised the execution of the race, highlighting the pit stops and the car’s performance after the updates brought to Barcelona.
Another aspect highlighted by the Briton was the relationship with the Scuderia’s fans: “Ferrari has the best fans in the world, and seeing their passion, energy and support makes this victory even more meaningful. It’s a day I’ll never forget and I hope it’s the first of many triumphs we can celebrate together,” he added.
While Hamilton celebrated, Charles Leclerc faced a frustrating end to the race. The Monegasque retired after a problem with his car in the closing laps, yet he took care to highlight the progress shown by the team over the weekend.
“There was a problem with my car near the end of the race and unfortunately I had to retire. Our team should be proud of the upgrades it brought to the car, because they raised our performance to this level,” Leclerc added, who also congratulated his teammate on the victory.
Vasseur also celebrated the result, describing the triumph as a reward for the work done both on the track and at the factory. The team chief highlighted that tire management was decisive in the race and praised Hamilton’s performance: “From the first lap we knew that tire management would be the key and Lewis did a fantastic job throughout the race. Now we head to Austria with the same approach, remembering that we were nowhere two weeks ago and we are not world champions today,” he concluded.
