Verstappen on Red Bull closing the gap in Barcelona qualifying
Max Verstappen said he was “surprised” Red Bull were able to close the gap to the front in Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix qualifying after struggling with a “sensitive” car in practice, as he secured fifth on the grid just over three tenths off pole. Verstappen said: "We just struggled a lot with the car. In qualifying, it was a little bit better, but I was still a little bit surprised by how much the gap shrank. Our car is just a little bit sensitive, but I think, overall, we can be quite happy with this pace. Throughout the whole weekend, I think we were lacking six or seven tenths, and now it's within three tenths."
Max Verstappen expresses surprise as Red Bull make unexpected step
Open original
🗞️ Latest Stories
Hamilton's first Ferrari win a statement to himself and the rest of F1
Hamilton on low place during first Ferrari season
Lewis Hamilton says he was in a “low place” during his first season at Ferrari before rebuilding his mindset on the way to his first Grand Prix victory for the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "I came from really quite a low place to get back here, and I think it's just really about never giving up, never second guessing yourself, never giving up on yourself and just keep on trying. It was really the fans that rescued me."
'I was in a low place' - Hamilton reveals self-doubts before 'dream' Ferrari win
Open original
Barcelona Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton's 'resilience' in 'tough moments' paid off for win - Fred Vasseur
Winners and losers from a cathartic Barcelona F1 Grand Prix
Norris on Hamilton answering critics with Ferrari win
Lando Norris said Lewis Hamilton’s maiden Ferrari win at the Barcelona Grand Prix was a chance for the seven-time world champion to answer people who have criticised him. Norris said: "You could see how much it meant to him at the same time. He's obviously had a lot of people talk badly about him and he's got a lot of crap online from a lot of people, so it's nice that he can stick the middle finger up to all of them."
Lewis Hamilton's Barcelona GP win a "middle finger" to doubters - Lando Norris
Open original
Related stories (1)
Norris says Hamilton can “stick middle finger up” to F1 doubters
Wolff on Mercedes reliability after Antonelli's Barcelona retirement
Toto Wolff says Mercedes’ reliability is “just not good enough” after Kimi Antonelli lost a podium in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix when he retired late on with a mechanical issue. Wolff said: "We just can't compete for a championship if every second race a car is losing fat points. It's one and then the other and to finish first, first you have to finish. That's just not good enough."
'Not good enough' – Wolff critical of Mercedes' reliability
Open original
Related stories (2)
Wolff: Mercedes can't compete for championship with unreliability
Wolff sounds alarm after DNF that Antonelli ‘did not see coming'
Hamilton on first Ferrari win in Barcelona
Lewis Hamilton said winning his first race for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was an emotion “beyond your wildest dreams” as he struggled to put the moment into words. Hamilton said: "How do you find the right words to express an emotion that's beyond your wildest dreams? My heart was exploding with joy."
Hamilton says Barcelona win beyond wildest dreams
Open original
Antonelli given post-race track-limits penalty
Andrea Kimi Antonelli was handed a five-second post-race penalty for track-limits at Turn 10 at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix despite retiring with an electrical shutdown, after an earlier infringement was only detected later in the race. The Race reports McLaren flagged the 3.16pm breach, meaning Antonelli was shown the black-and-white warning flag only after what was actually his fourth offence. In their decision, the stewards said: “The car left the track four times during the race without justifiable reason,” and recommended the FIA revisit the procedures “as soon as possible”.
Antonelli's post-race Barcelona penalty and McLaren's role in it
Open original
Related stories (1)
Kimi Antonelli receives post-race penalty despite retirement in Barcelona
What the teams said – Race day in Barcelona-Catalunya
Toto Wolff slams Mercedes' "worthless race" after losing out to Lewis Hamilton
Toto Wolff said Mercedes had a “useless race” at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after Kimi Antonelli retired and the team lost time through fighting between its drivers, as Lewis Hamilton won for Ferrari. Wolff said: "It was a useless race for us. First of all, we can't keep having retirements all the time. You don't win championships if your cars keep stopping. And secondly, while we've always tried to be fair between the two drivers, now there's a third driver, with Lewis fighting for the world championship. We need to pay attention."
Verstappen on Red Bull needing to improve the car
Max Verstappen says Red Bull "need to work harder" to improve the car after finishing fourth in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "I think strategy-wise we did a good job – it was the winning strategy, so we cannot complain about that. We just need to work harder and try to improve the car."
Verstappen admits Red Bull ‘need to work harder'
Open original
Hamilton on having the right team around him at Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton says he now has “the right team” around him at Ferrari after taking his first win for the Scuderia at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "The changes that I've asked for all of last year have been made. I now have the right team around me and I'll have the right car around me and now I can start doing what I do best."
Lewis Hamilton delivers menacing ‘right team' verdict after maiden Ferrari F1 win
Open original
Williams fined twice for grid infringements
Williams has been fined twice, receiving two separate €5,000 penalties for starting procedure infringements at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix after leaving equipment on the grid beyond the 15-second signal. The stewards said Carlos Sainz’s car had “a black plastic box on the grass area next to the grid” that was not retrieved in time, while Alex Albon’s car left for the formation lap with part of a right-front tyre blanket cable still hanging off it.
Williams handed double punishment after bizarre Barcelona GP error
Open original
Norris on McLaren continuing to work towards wins
Lando Norris says McLaren have to “keep our heads down” and continue working to get back to challenging for wins, after finishing third in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Norris said: "We're doing a good job as a team, I think we're making good progress but these guys are just doing a better job, so we have to give credits to them and admit that to ourselves, that we've got to keep working hard, we've got to keep putting in the effort. But the whole team are doing it so I'm very happy with them, but we've just got to keep our heads down and keep working, and we'll be there soon."
Norris insists McLaren will 'be there soon' after podium
Open original
Wolff on factors behind Hamilton's Ferrari resurgence
Toto Wolff says Lewis Hamilton’s resurgence at Ferrari is down to a mix of hard work, the characteristics of Formula 1’s current generation of cars, and a happier personal and team environment, after Hamilton won in Barcelona. Wolff said: "Hard work… The dynamics in the team look to be good between him and his race engineer… Maybe the girlfriend helps! It helped me to have a partner that, you know, you have a stable family life and they seem to be getting on really well. I think it’s all of those factors that put together the emotional, personal and professional perspective. If you are in a good place, you win."
"Maybe the girlfriend helps" - Toto Wolff's take on Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari revival
Open original
Vasseur on Hamilton's Barcelona win without virtual safety car
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says Lewis Hamilton would still have won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix even without the virtual safety car that allowed Ferrari to pit him. Vasseur said: "We would have won the race, perhaps with a bit less. But we were also in a good situation with a fresh set of tyres at this stage."
Fred Vasseur: Lewis Hamilton would have won Barcelona GP without VSC help
Open original
Antonelli given post-race track-limits penalty
Kimi Antonelli has been given a post-race five-second penalty for exceeding track limits four times during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, despite retiring late on with an electrical failure. As he was still classified 16th after completing more than 90% of the distance, the penalty is added to his race time rather than becoming a grid penalty for the Austrian Grand Prix. In their report, the stewards recommended the FIA revisit track-limits procedures after Antonelli was shown the black-and-white flag only after his fourth infringement.
Kimi Antonelli punished despite gut-wrenching Barcelona GP retirement
Open original
Related stories (1)
Antonelli receives belated penalty after stewards spot overlooked track limits breach
Perfect 10 for Hamilton and Norris keeps fighting - driver ratings
Every Williams F1 driver ranked
Elkann praises Hamilton after Ferrari win
Ferrari executive chairman John Elkann has praised Lewis Hamilton after his first victory for the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. In a post-race message, Elkann told Hamilton: “Well done Lewis, on your first great victory with Ferrari: an emotional moment and a very important result, which belongs to the entire team and to all our fans,” before thanking staff “at the track and in Maranello” for their “determination, sacrifice and collective effort”.
Ferrari chairman issues statement after stunning first Lewis Hamilton win
Open original
Related stories (1)
Ferrari chairman releases emotional Lewis Hamilton statement after first win with team
F1 - 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix Post-Race Press Conference Transcript
Norris on Ferrari's engine deficit and cornering strength
Lando Norris says Ferrari would be dominating Formula 1 if it had a better engine, warning the team could “embarrass everyone” if it improves its power unit. Norris said: "We're lucky that Ferrari doesn't have a better engine at the minute. If they had a better engine, they're dominating. They're the class of the field in terms of cornering performance at the minute. We're not even close to them. If they make improvements on the engine side, then they'll embarrass everyone."
Ferrari would be dominating F1 with better engine - Norris
Open original
Related stories (1)
Norris issues chilling Ferrari prediction: ‘They'll embarrass everyone’
Mercedes reliability concerns after Antonelli DNF
Kimi Antonelli’s late retirement from second at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix has intensified Mercedes’ reliability concerns after another apparent battery-related engine failure. Antonelli said the car “just gave up” and admitted: “It’s a bit of a concern because we’ve had quite several issues so far in the year.” The DNF followed George Russell’s engine failure from the lead in Montreal two races earlier. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “We can’t DNF cars in a kind of regular, or continued way… reliability, this is what we need to get on top of. That’s number one.”
Kimi Antonelli's Barcelona GP retirement prompts reliability concerns at Mercedes
Open original
Wolff on Mercedes intra-team fight costing Barcelona win
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says his team may have cost itself victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix by allowing George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to race each other and lose time to Lewis Hamilton. Wolff said: "We tried to race fair in the team game. But maybe it cost us the win. And that's something which we need to discuss with the drivers. They raced each other quite hard before George's stop. And I think we lost about four or five or six seconds to Lewis. We're leaving that time on the track."
Wolff hints Mercedes might've won Barcelona GP with team orders
Open original
Russell on Ferrari's pace after Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
George Russell said Ferrari were “mighty impressive” at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and that Mercedes need to “keep pushing” after he finished second to Lewis Hamilton. Russell said: "But yeah, a tough day, it's good to be back on the podium and have a bit of a clean race from my side. Ferrari were mighty impressive today and we need to keep on pushing."
Russell wary of ‘mighty impressive' Ferrari after Barcelona P2
Open original
The Race
@wearetherace
Lando Norris on Lewis Hamilton's win:
🗣️"He's obviously had a lot of people talk badly about him, and he's got a lot of crap online from a lot of people, so it's nice that he can stick the middle finger up to all of them."
3h ago
ESPN F1
@ESPNF1
Lewis Hamilton is so grateful for his fans sticking with him ❤️
3h ago
Winners and losers from F1's 2026 Barcelona Grand Prix
Hamilton is Formula 1's oldest grand prix winner since 1970
More in the app
Download AppDownload SeedStream for more F1 stories
Get the full feed, faster alerts, and the stories worth following on your phone.