Formula One Gradebook: Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix
- Maham Mir
- 1 hour ago
- 12 min read
For the second race in the first European double-header, Formula One returned to one of the most well-known tracks on the calendar: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Often used in the past as a location for pre-season testing, the drivers and teams are forced to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of their cars here every year.
No stranger to records, Lewis Hamilton added a few more to his list as he became the first British driver to win for Ferrari since Eddie Irvine and the most successful driver at the circuit with seven wins, breaking the long-standing record of former Ferrari driver, Michael Schumacher.
Seven drivers retired from the race for a second weekend running, raising issues about the reliability of the newly introduced power-units. With a headline-worthy drive for his first win in red, Hamilton and Ferrari dominated talking points with an intense midfield battle between Alpine and Racing Bulls also taking place. Here’s how all 22 drivers performed on race day:
Mercedes
George Russell: A
For the first time since Melbourne, Russell had a dominant and consistent weekend even without a fairytale finish on Sunday. From the first laps on Friday, Russell seemed settled in the car which was proven when he took pole position on Saturday and by quite a gap to his teammate in third.
During the race, it seemed almost confirmed that Russell would take the win until Ferrari’s strategy choices, and the virtual safety car caused by the Aston Martin, saw his former teammate take the lead and race into the distance.
Although the British driver may have been disappointed not to take his second win of the season, he maximised the situation especially with his teammate unable to finish the race. Russell remains in third in the Drivers’ Championship standings however the gaps are starting to shrink.
Kimi Antonelli: A-
Somewhat uncharacteristically, Antonelli had his first weekend of the year where he seemed unsettled and on the back-foot compared to Russell.
Having sat out of FP1 to allow Fred Vesti to take part in a mandated rookie practice session, Antonelli never seemed to get back up to speed after that. Having marginally qualified ahead of the McLaren, Antonelli demonstrated considerable pace especially during his second stint during the race.
In the closing stages, it seemed almost certain that Antonelli would overtake Russell for the runner’s up position as the Italian driver was consistently lapping quicker than the Mercedes ahead. However, a first mechanical failure of the season saw Antonelli fail to take the chequered flag and as such, his championship lead was reduced from 66 points to 41.
Ferrari
Charles Leclerc: B
It was another weekend to forget for Leclerc after yet another crash in qualifying saw his race on Sunday compromised before it even started - this was his third crash in three consecutive competitive sessions after he found the wall in Monaco’s qualifying and during the Grand Prix as well.
Starting in 10th on Sunday, the Monegasque driver was a long way back from his teammate on the front-row however an excellent start brought him into seventh before the end of the opening lap.
Although he was testing the brake configuration on his teammate’s car which seemed to improve his driving experience, he didn’t have the pace of his teammate ahead and was unable to challenge for the podium positions. After encountering his first reliability issue of the season, Leclerc retired from the race on Lap 63.
Lewis Hamilton: A+
It was only a matter of time for Hamilton to find the top step of the podium again with his new team, especially after a string of incredible successful results in the lead up to this race weekend in Spain.
After a gap of 686 days, the now 106-time winner added another victory to his name and has become the most successful driver in the circuit’s history.
From the start of the weekend, Hamilton was no doubt ahead of his teammate but the chances of challenging the Mercedes seemed to be slim especially after qualifying where Russell took pole despite Ferrari’s successful upgrade package.
However, an excellent strategy call by the Ferrari pit-wall paired with a monstrous second-stint by Hamilton saw him in an optimal position to capitalise by taking and keeping the race lead.
Cutting Antonelli’s championship lead by 25 points, you get the impression that this partnership which promised so much is only just getting started.
McLaren
Lando Norris: A
Arriving into the weekend, Norris was optimistic about McLaren’s potential, especially with the reigning Constructors’ Champions rumoured to be favourites for pole position.
Over the course of the weekend, despite missing FP1, Norris seemed quicker and more settled than his teammate and set the pace in Friday’s FP2. Although he qualified fourth, the gap between himself and Antonelli ahead was smaller than it had been at previous rounds which proves that McLaren are taking steps in the right direction.
The race was a bit of a lonely one for the reigning world champion as he was consistently lapping quicker than the midfield teams behind but did not have the outright pace to challenge for the podium ahead. After the retirement of Antonelli ahead, Norris was in the perfect position to move into the top three for his second visit to the podium of 2026.
Oscar Piastri: B+
It was another quiet weekend for the Australian driver who demonstrated consistent pace across the weekend but had a difficult time in the race as he struggled for grip and traction. Despite having the extra practice session, Piastri was unable to match Norris for pace during qualifying and the race as well - so was never in a position to challenge for the top three.
During the race, Leclerc and Piastri battled against each other for position, however it was the McLaren driver who emerged ahead after the Ferrari was forced to retire. It was another decent haul of points from a fifth-placed finish, all of which will be incredibly important if McLaren can even begin to hope about retaining their crown for another year.
Red Bull
Max Verstappen: B+
The four-time former world champion was constrained to running his own race again this weekend as the Red Bull car did not have the performance to challenge any of the cars ahead. After a less than ideal qualifying, an alternative strategy of starting on the soft tyres meant that Verstappen had a strong getaway but was unable to gain any positions on the opening lap.
Using the three-stop strategy like a lot of the other drivers on the grid, Verstappen simply didn’t have the pace to make anything else work for him or to justify any risks. After a lonely race, the Dutch driver crossed the line in fourth for an important haul of points but no doubt another frustrating weekend to add onto the list.
Isack Hadjar: B+
In the other Red Bull garage, it was a similar story to Verstappen for Hadjar where a poor start due to wheel-spin saw him drop down the order to 14th.
Unlike the position that Verstappen found himself in where he couldn’t battle the front-runners, Hadjar had no difficulty in getting past the back-markers and midfield runners to find himself back in the points.
On the same three-stop strategy, the team delayed his pit-stops in case of a late safety car, a real possibility around this track, Hadjar eventually came home in sixth where he started the race.
Haas
Ollie Bearman: B-
In a bit of a running theme, it was another difficult weekend for Bearman as the British driver noted that “if anything, we were further forward than we were meant to be” after only managing 15th.
The Haas didn’t demonstrate remarkable pace this weekend and finishing in the top 10 was going to be a tall order for Bearman even if he has been the more consistent points contributor so far this season.
In the end, despite trying to look for in-roads, the lack of performance in the car this weekend was reiterated one last time with another retirement for the young British driver. This makes it back to back retirements after he also failed to see the chequered flag in Monaco.
Esteban Ocon: C
Starting towards the back of the grid meant that the French driver was never going to have too many opportunities to end up in the top 10 for some much-needed points.
Although starting on the soft tyre for the sake of a better getaway was a gamble that others on the track also took, it didn’t quite work out for Ocon which meant that he was vulnerable to faster cars especially after the tyres started to go off.
In the end, Ocon crossed the line in 13th which, in part, was aided by the seven retirements which included his teammate as well. Over the last few rounds, Haas have lost major ground to the midfield teams around them, making it harder for the American outfit to continue to be in contention for the title of best of the rest.
Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad: A
Lindblad had a strong start to the weekend on a track that he knows well considering how much the circuit is used for the junior formula series, however the race told a different story.
Despite his experience here in Barcelona, 2026’s only rookie had a difficult start to the race and was caught out by the train of drivers who were able to progress on-track as he took to the side-road.
Deliberately delaying his stops for a safety car that didn’t happen like some of the other drivers on the grid, his pace was considerably faster on his second and third stints but being caught in traffic meant that he wasn’t able to make the most out of his fast car.
In the end, Lindblad was able to sneak his way into the points after retirements ahead and Colapinto’s penalty meant he was promoted into ninth. This is Lindblad’s third top 10 finish of the season so far.
Liam Lawson: A
Like his teammate, Lawson had an excellent start to the weekend which tailed off at the race start where he too was bogged down like Lindblad. Unlike others who were able to benefit from the Virtual Safety Car, the timing meant that Lawson lost track position to Gasly and was forced to play catch up for the rest of the race. However, with the pace that he found during his second and third stints, Lawson was able to challenge for the final points position.
In the end, Lawson was able to achieve his fifth points-scoring race of the season and came home ahead of his teammate. Benefiting from Colapinto’s penalty, Lawson’s final race classification was eighth. After being beaten by his teammate on a few occasions in the early part of the season, the driver from New Zealand has used his experience to tip things back into his favour in both qualifying and race results.
This weekend was a second-consecutive points scoring one for the team and as such, Racing Bulls could still emerge as a dark horse against Alpine to battle for the top of the midfield.
Audi
Gabriel Bortoleto: B
Taking the chequered flag in 11th, it was a relatively uneventful weekend for the Brazilian driver who did not seem to have the same pace in the car as his teammate. The two main parts of his race were the difficult start which caused him to lose positions on the opening lap and the contact with Ocon.
Despite the situation being less than ideal, the pace demonstrated by the Audi this weekend will no doubt reassure everyone at the team that they are headed in the right direction.
Nico Hülkenberg: A
The German driver had an optimistic start to the weekend after securing his first top 10 start of the season however things soon fell apart. As one of four drivers yet to score points in 2026, it seemed as though Hülkenberg was finally on-track to change that; however a sudden retirement from the race after his car shut down brought those hopes to an end.
In a self-described “very unusual and unfortunate retirement”, Hülkenberg came back into the pits after gravel from Lawson’s excursion into the gravel damaged some of the sensors on his Audi.
Alpine
Pierre Gasly: A-
Driving with the news that his Monaco podium had been reinstated, there can be little surprise that the French driver was approaching all the sessions this weekend with some extra energy. Even with the boost for his new result from last weekend, it wasn’t able to translate onto on-track performance for the French driver as he failed to qualify in the top 10.
During the race, the Alpines only really had each other for company as their issues with performance persisted. A pit-wall call saw the two drivers swap positions as Gasly seemed faster on data and in the end, the French driver crossed the line ahead of his teammate.
With a seventh-placed finish came another handful of points that keep Alpine securely in fifth place in the WCC standings.
Franco Colapinto: B+
It was a quiet weekend for Colapinto who has been on a string of good results over the last few weekends, scoring the points that he needs in order to secure his race seat for next season.
While both Alpine cars struggled for pace during the free practice and qualifying sessions, they were able to make the most of the situation during the race. While the drivers were swapped so that the faster Gasly could chase after Hülkenberg and Lawson ahead, Colapinto caught up to them soon enough.
Crossing the line right behind Gasly, a post-race penalty for a yellow flag infringement meant that Colapinto dropped from eighth to tenth. However, even with the penalty, it was another consecutive points-scoring weekend which should give him great momentum ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
Williams
Carlos Sainz: C
As one of two Spanish drivers on the grid, a return to Barcelona was a homecoming for Sainz but the home-crowd weren’t able to give the four-time Grand Prix winner an extra boost on-track. After an opening lap where he was able to gain four positions, the Spaniard’s pace tailed off and he was unable to make any moves further forward.
Williams continued to struggle with pace and performance in Barcelona, a track that they’ve historically struggled with, and so the Spanish fans were not given anything too exciting to cheer about after his first stint. Having crossed the line in 12th, this brought to an end an extensive streak of scoring points in Barcelona.
Alex Albon: C
Albon did not have an easier time than Sainz this weekend, struggling more than his teammate with degradation issues on his tyres. A technical issue on his car meant that it seemed like he was set to retire from the race; however, this was not the case.
After coming into the pit-lane for what ended up being an extended stop rather than a retirement, Albon was sent back onto the track for the sake of data collection. Ultimately, the British-born Thai driver was not classified due to the gap between himself and race leader Hamilton.
Cadillac
Sergio Pérez: C+
A developing routine for the Mexican driver is to be in the mix of things with the Aston Martin pair which occurred again this time out in Barcelona. Although Pérez certainly did not have the pace for the midfield runners ahead, he was able to keep the Aston Martins at bay.
Utilising the same three-stop strategy as the rest of the grid, Pérez came back in 14th having collected important data that the team will no doubt analyse in the break between races.
Valtteri Bottas: C
The Finn was already on the backfoot coming into the race as he had lost a decent amount of practice time due to reliability issues. Finding his way off the back row of the grid, Bottas had the opportunity for some crucial data collection but this was not to be.
With the team making the decision to retire the car, Bottas failed to take the chequered flag for the third time in 2026.
Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso: C
On a weekend where he revealed that it was likely to be his last F1 race in Barcelona, the home hero unfortunately couldn’t make a success of things. Qualifying behind his teammate for the first time in 42 races, Alonso was forced to start from the pit-lane after issues on his engine needed to be fixed ahead of lights out on Sunday.
There was little on-track action for the two-time former world champion and he seemed to be running his own race at the back despite going long on his first stint and attempting to chase after Pérez on-track. After a battery issue made itself known, Alonso was forced to park up on the grass right in-front of his grandstand to record his first DNF in Barcelona since 2016.
Lance Stroll: C
The weekend started off on a high after Stroll out-qualified his teammate for the first time in 42 races, however this was to be the only good part of the weekend for the Canadian driver.
As the last car on track with Alonso starting from the pit-lane, Stroll only managed five racing laps from the back until he was forced into the pit-lane and subsequently retired from the race.
Recording his fifth DNF in the first seven races of 2026, Stroll became the first retiree of the weekend on Lap 5 of the race after a gearbox issue made itself known.
Aston Martin are yet to bring an extensive upgrade package but it seems that will be one of their only ways to bring or unlock some performance in their car after a difficult season is yet to yield any positive results.
Looking ahead
F1 will return for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in two weeks time. With Hamilton finding form in his Ferrari and Mercedes perhaps needing a closer look at their power unit for reliability concerns, only time will tell if the Silver Arrows will have to make way for the Prancing Horse yet again.
Edited by Benjamin Crundwell
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