Verstappen P4 in Spain as Hamilton takes maiden Ferrari victory: 'A lonely race'

Published on 14 June 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished fourth in the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona. The opening phase of the race was relatively calm, with little movement at the front, but as the race progressed the tension steadily increased. A fight for the podium positions, varying strategies, a virtual safety car, and retirements for Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc all combined to produce a dramatic closing stage. Lewis Hamilton ultimately came out on top, claiming his first victory for Ferrari. George Russell finished second, while Lando Norris completed an all-British podium. Verstappen extracted the maximum from his race to finish P4, ahead of Oscar Piastri in fifth.

“For me it was actually quite a lonely race and just too slow,” Verstappen said after the race. “Every stint you just lose a bit of time on every tyre. None of them really worked, at least for us. But I think that is also just because we are a bit too slow on all compounds.”

In the closing stages Verstappen was still setting competitive lap times on the medium tyre, but according to the four-time world champion it did not feel any better. “That was mainly because I pitted a bit later and therefore had a few laps of advantage. But towards the end it did not really go. In reality it was just the same as in all the stints.”

Verstappen also watched Lewis Hamilton take his first win for Ferrari. The Dutchman had praise for the seven-time world champion: “It is a nice moment. From what I could see he was incredibly quick today. Your first win with a new team is always very special, even if you have already won so much.”

He also reacted to the news that Nyck de Vries had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “I had not seen it yet, because I only look at my phone once I am back in my room. But that is obviously really great. I am happy about that.” He also looked ahead to the evening, when the Netherlands face Japan in football: “I hope they win, that is the most important thing.”

When the lights went out, polesitter George Russell got away well and held the lead. Little changed at the front: the top five remained unchanged. Verstappen, starting from fifth, had to defend against Oscar Piastri in the opening phase but held on to P5. Behind him, teammate Isack Hadjar had a difficult first lap, dropping as many as eight positions after a poor start.

Lance Stroll became the first retirement of the race after eight laps, with the Aston Martin driver called into the pits due to gearbox issues. At the front, Charles Leclerc was making strong progress. The Monegasque, who started from P10, carved his way through the field and soon caught Verstappen, who was struggling to manage his soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton triggered the first round of pit stops on lap 12, coming in as the first of the front-runners, with Russell reacting shortly after. Verstappen also pitted and rejoined in eighth place. Notably, he was the only driver from the top five to switch to medium tyres, while the others opted for hard compounds.

Leclerc stayed out longer than the leading group but dropped back to sixth after his stop. After the first round of pit stops, the order at the front remained unchanged: Russell led from Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and Verstappen. In his second stint, Russell was unable to build a gap to those behind. Two places behind the leader, Antonelli increased the pressure and closed in on Hamilton. When Hamilton made his second stop on lap 28, the Italian gained a position. Verstappen followed two laps later, but a slow stop cost him time. The Dutchman switched his mediums for a set of hard tyres. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas did not make it back out of the pits, retiring with technical issues.

Nico Hülkenberg also came into the pits with technical problems, becoming the third retirement of the afternoon. The battle for the lead then erupted between Russell and Antonelli. The Italian pressured Russell heavily and showed himself in the mirrors, but could not find a way through. Antonelli also had to be careful after exceeding track limits, receiving a black-and-white flag warning. Russell pitted again on lap 36, followed by Antonelli a lap later, handing the lead to Hamilton. Shortly afterwards, the race swung further his way when home favourite Fernando Alonso pulled his Aston Martin off track, triggering a virtual safety car. Hamilton capitalised perfectly, taking a free pit stop and maintaining the lead. Verstappen also pitted for a set of mediums, rejoining just ahead of Leclerc in P5 and soon setting the fastest lap of the race.

Hamilton then pulled clear of the chasing Mercedes cars. With the fastest lap secured, the Brit had a 13-second lead with ten laps remaining. Antonelli was again within a second of Russell, but a move was not forthcoming. Verstappen had meanwhile broken clear of Leclerc. On lap 61, Antonelli finally made his move, passing Russell, who failed to defend in time. However, he did not get to enjoy it for long, as he immediately suffered technical issues. His Mercedes stopped on track, ending any hopes of a podium. Leclerc also ran into trouble, with the Ferrari driver losing power steering and pulling into the pit box. As a result, Norris moved up to third, while Verstappen was promoted to P4. Antonelli’s retirement triggered a virtual safety car, which was withdrawn two laps from the finish.

Hamilton brought it home convincingly in the closing laps. With that, the Brit made history with his first win in Ferrari red and his first Grand Prix victory since Silverstone 2024. It also ended Mercedes’ perfect run, as they failed to win for the first time this season. Russell had to settle for second, Norris completed the podium, and Verstappen finished fourth after maximising his race.

Results Grand Prix Barcelona-catalunya: