Lewis Hamilton is back. When some already considered him retired. When I was further away than ever from writing any historical chapter with the sacred cloak of the Formula 1the one of the Scuderia Ferrari. When no one coughed Mercedes. But in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya The old style of the seven-time British champion returned and he drew one of his most beautiful chapters in the demands of Montmeló. The one who is worth breaking his spell and reaching 106 victories. The one I also needed Ferrariwith more than a calendar year without rising to the top. And the one that makes him the great king of the Catalan track with seven wins.
Hamilton, in action.
Nobody lives up to hamiltonwhich already surpasses Michael Schumacher in Barcelona (7 wins). And no one was in a master class of Ferrari from the wall with some luck, because his old enemy Fernando Alonso caused a virtual safety car that destroyed the mercedes. And there was something else, because the leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli He was left stranded when he had the second one within range. He is still in command (156 points), but hamilton revive the World Cup (115) and George Russellsecond ending, can breathe a little more (106). Norriswithout wanting it or drinking it, closed the podium.
A strategic war
The battle in Montmelo It was the one on the wall. Nothing changed with the strategy or the yo-yo, and it was a more classic Formula 1. Of position, strategy and a scorching heat that put the drivers’ tires on the ropes. Mercedes, with a good Russellhe did endure the first part of the race with indecision in the slipstream of the start, but Ferrari I had tricks. Those who are not there on other occasions, but are in Barcelona. Something that the World Cup needed.
Hamilton was chasing, but he played the winner with his team. “We want plan C,” they asked the Briton and his hard work worked wonders after the second stop on lap 27. Thus, he put pressure on a Mercedes with less reaction, which wanted to stay in two passes through the pits but with trouble. Antonelli hunted down a Russell without rubber on the front axle, but their battle only served to breathe more life into Hamilton – always at three.
the drama
Antonelli and Norris, in Barcelona.
In fact, mercedes I was going to the limit and lap 40 was the coup de theater that the race called for. Because Alonso was left stranded in turn 9 and took a while to get out because he was unsure, which benefited from a millimeter stop by a hamilton which would have to be behind in other scenarios. Ferrari nailed the entry, the virtual safety car did not disappear and all the time that would have been lost vanished.
“That’s right, guys,” he said. Hamilton. that left the mercedes for another battle that was dramatic. Well a brutal Antonelli attacked and passed Russel for second in turn 1, but not even half a circuit later everything changed. Suddenly, his mercedes He ran out of power and led to the first abandonment of a course that seemed only to elevate him.
Thank you all, Forza Ferrari
At the same time, the joy of Lewis Hamilton was shot. “Thank you, guys. Forza Ferrari. I’m very proud of you,” he said on the radio. I finally won. And he finally feels like a candidate for a world title that he wants to fight. The same driver who was called useless in Hungary is now at the top. Hamilton, the king of Montmeló. “A year ago I started a dream that seemed impossible… but we never lost hope,” he concluded.
Sainz, blurred (12th)
Sainz, in action.
The British was the epic protagonist of a cruel day for the leader Antonellia Leclerc without power steering in the final laps and which put the Alpine in points or a Lawson after all the fuss at the end. None of this benefited the Spanish, who left the first home Grand Prix without a single point. It was expected, although it is hard after another day of celebration in the more than 100,000 spectators who took over the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Carlos Sainz fought. For the umpteenth time with these cars, the Williams car made a great start and placed better than the Alpine or a stuck Hadjar. But in the race things changed. Between an investigation due to a procedural error and a pace that did not allow it to approach the best cars in the middle zone, such as the Alpine, Audi or RB. His only chance was with the haassomething hard after scoring in mouse circuits like Miami either Canada.
He finished 12th and serves as a warning to a team that still needs one more jump. Sainz He fought and gave himself, but for the second weekend in a row no prize came. You should also wait for summer to see a radical change in the moment you live.
Alonso, 40 laps
Alonso, in action.
He couldn’t even finish, for his part, Fernando Alonso. He changed the electrical part of his AMR26 and started from the pit-lane, but the race was just as he expected: an ordeal. was able to go to Valtteri Bottas with risk in 1, he extended his first stop 27 laps with the hard tire and his Aston Martin He said enough a few turns later.
They told me to stop and get out. I think it’s the battery
Until 40. There, Alonso He had to park the AMR26 in turn 9. “They told me to stop and get out. I think it’s the battery,” he said later. In that corralito only the Drivers Parade stood out, where Barcelona once again elevated the pilot who changed the history of a country in the queen class. His farewell to MontmeloIf this is it, it is far from ideal.
Classification of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
Classification of the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
