EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLewis Hamilton has said he "never gave up hope" of achieving a victory with Ferrari after securing his first win with the Italian team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on Sunday.The seven-time champion beat his former teammate George Russell to victory, showing superior pace to the Mercedes drivers and benefiting from a fortuitously timed Virtual Safety Car under which he made his final pit stop and consolidated his lead.Hamilton surprised the Formula 1 world ahead of the 2024 season when he announced he would leave Mercedes to join Ferrari at the start of 2025.He endured a difficult first season with the Italian team, in which he failed to score a grand prix podium, and at one particularly low point after the Hungarian Grand Prix said Ferrari should consider a replacement driver.The start of the 2026 season has seen a turnaround in form for Hamilton at Ferrari, with three podiums in the first six races before he secured his first Ferrari win -- and the 106th of his career -- on Sunday."First, I have to start and say a huge grazie to everyone here, my team here at Ferrari, everyone back at the factory, Fred [Vasseur, team principal] for believing in me and bringing me to this team," he said."I started out with a dream last year, which seemed almost impossible during my time last year, but we never gave up hope, and the team just continued to lift me up."We made so many changes and we made so many improvements. And on top of that, I've got the greatest fan base a sportsman could ever ask for. And so, thank you. Thank you to everybody."Asked by his former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who was conducting F1's postrace interviews, if this race was one of his best "feeling wise," Hamilton said: "Oh, they're all special in their own way, but this one, this one's something else."This is, you know, I always watched Ferrari have all that success when I was younger, watching it on TV. And as I've been racing here [in F1], I'd always watch the screens and wonder what it'd be like to win in that car."And it's come and everyone worked so hard for it. Everyone truly deserves it. So I'm forever grateful to them."And this is just the first, I hope, of many, but great pit stops today. Great strategy. The car felt fantastic. Forza Ferrari!"- Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton wins first race for Ferrari, first all British podium since 1968 - as it happened- Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton takes first victory for Ferrari, Mercedes couldn't find answersSunday's victory was the first for a non-Mercedes driver this season and moves Hamilton 41 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who retired from second place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with four laps remaining.Hamilton was reluctant to talk up his championship chances despite the 25-point swing in his favor, but acknowledged the title race was far from over."I'll definitely take it," he said. "It's a long, long way to go, and they [Mercedes] still have great pace, as you can see."But we're going to keep working. We're going to keep trying to close that gap. It's not over, that's for sure."
