Can Hamilton now fight for the F1 world title with Ferrari? Our writers have their say

Lewis Hamilton has secured his maiden Ferrari grand prix win with an emotional triumph at the Barcelona Grand Prix – but can it spark a Formula 1 world title charge?

The seven-time F1 world champion took his first grand prix win for the Scuderia to end Mercedes' perfect start to the season and he has moved to 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli at the top of the drivers' standings. 

Can this victory start a title charge for Hamilton and Ferrari? Our writers have their say.

Hold your Prancing Horses – Filip Cleeren

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images

I think we need to pump the brakes a little bit on this one. There is no question that Ferrari has hit the mark with its second big upgrade package of the year, with several competitors up and down the paddock impressed with the batch of updates Ferrari has brought to Spain, including a new front wing and revised floor.

But Barcelona has been somewhat of an outlier at this stage of the 2026 season with its combination of hot conditions and long, high downforce corners, which has seemingly caught a few teams out. The biggest question for me is why Mercedes and George Russell struggled so much on the hard tyre, with an apparent lack of balance and an understeery front of the W17.

Hamilton and Ferrari were absolutely good value for their win, virtual safety car or not. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet and see what the next few races bring. One weekend is not a reliable data point. We will know more after Austria and especially after Silverstone, but on pure pace Mercedes still seems to have the edge.

Hamilton has the speed, now over to you Ferrari – Ed Hardy

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

A lot of what Filip raised makes sense. Ferrari didn't exactly achieve this victory through outright pace, as much of it came from its offset strategy by pitting Hamilton three times while catching fortune through the timely VSC caused by Fernando Alonso. 

Right now it's probably a one-off result and the best Ferrari, plus Hamilton, can hope for is the occasional victory through the season in a similar vein to Max Verstappen when he was stuck behind the dominant Mercedes pair – sound familiar? – in 2020. 

But one can hope, right? Although 41 points is a big haul on the face of it, there are still 15 rounds remaining and Verstappen's charge last year, plus that of Lando Norris, shows how everything can change in an instant. 

All Hamilton needed was that first victory – he'd been knocking on the door with consecutive runner-up finishes – and now he has it, then perhaps away we go. When the seven-time world champion is confident, on form and has the machinery beneath him, few can match his talents and much like Verstappen last year, this is where Hamilton truly shines.

Unlike the Mercedes drivers, the 41-year-old has the knowhow of these situations and if Ferrari can upgrade its SF-26 to consistently match the W17 then that coveted eighth crown becomes a genuine possibility. That's a big ‘if’, though!

If Hamilton can keep the momentum… why not? – Oleg Karpov

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Yes, a lot will depend on Ferrari. That’s how Formula 1 works – without a winning car, no driver can make the difference. But Barcelona offered the first sign that the Scuderia is at least very close to providing Hamilton with a machine capable of challenging Mercedes. It’s an interesting question whether Lewis would have been able to beat George Russell and Kimi Antonelli without a little help from Fernando Alonso, who triggered a VSC at the perfect moment for his former McLaren team-mate. But the Ferrari driver’s pace suggested it would at least have been close in the closing laps.

And if the car is there for Lewis, this version of Hamilton can do a lot with it. There’s something about him – when he’s in a happy place, he can produce absolutely exceptional performances.

This year, he pushed for changes within the team, which probably wasn’t easy. When someone is performing at the level Hamilton was last year, there probably isn’t much trust in what he has to say. But Fred Vasseur accommodated those changes, and Lewis is repaying that faith. He has also made some drastic changes on a personal level, moving on from the version of himself we saw last year – one that at times looked too down and too defeated. Now, he appears to be back at his absolute best.

“I feel like I’m in a period where I’m having to remind people of who I am,” he said in Monaco. And there’s no better way to do that than by winning a race.

Lewis is now just 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli in the championship, and with Mercedes suffering so many power unit issues, that gap could disappear pretty quickly. And if it does become a head-to-head fight with Antonelli for the title, Hamilton’s experience is not something that can be discounted either.

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– The Autosport.com Team