Barcelona [Spain], June 15: Lewis Hamilton described the emotion of his first victory for Ferrari as "something else" as he realised his dream of winning in red at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
The 41-year-old delivered a brilliant drive from second on the grid to nail a three-stop strategy and allow him to capitalize on a perfectly-timed virtual safety car to clinch his first victory since the Belgian Grand Prix in 2024 - 41 races and 686 days ago.
Hamilton endured a testing debut season after making the move to Ferrari from Mercedes last year and admits a first win for the team felt like it might never come.
"I started out a dream which seemed almost impossible during my time last year but we never gave up hope and the team continued to lift me up," Hamilton said.
"They (wins) are all special in their own way but this one is something else.
"I watched Ferrari have all that success when I was younger, watching it on TV. As I've been racing here, I'd always watched the screens and wondered what it would be like to win in that car - and it's come."
Hamilton crossed the line over 19 seconds clear of Mercedes' George Russell, who led until a virtual safety car enabled the seven-time world champion to take the lead and he never looked back. Lando Norris completed the first all-British podium since 1968.
Hamilton, who had fantastic pace in the latter stages of the race, became the oldest F1 race winner since Jack Brabham in 1970, also securing a record-extending 106th career win.
"Thank you so much. You've helped me achieve this dream and I can't thank you enough," Hamilton said to his team as he crossed the line.
"I'm so proud of you. To my family, I love you, to my fans, thank you for continuing to remind me who I am. I couldn't have done this without you." Championship leader Kimi Antonelli's five-race winning streak was snapped and his advantage was slashed from 66 points to 41 as the Italian suffered an engine failure five laps from the end.
Hamilton is now firmly in title contention and vowed to keep pushing forward.
"There is a long, long way to go and they've (Mercedes) still got great pace, as you can see. But we are going to keep working and trying to close that gap," Hamilton added.
Source: Qatar Tribune
