Still I rise - a story of the Spanish Grand Prix

When Ferrari announced the signing of Lewis Hamilton over a year ago, it was billed as a dream partnership: the seven-time champion joining the most iconic team in Formula One. For Hamilton, it was the final chapter in a glittering career. For Ferrari, it promised global superstar power.

The 2025 season, however, tested that narrative harshly. The final generation of ground-effect cars proved a mismatch for Hamilton. He failed to score a single podium as Ferrari finished fourth in the constructors’ championship. Yet Lewis Hamilton has built a career on defying the odds. His mantra has always been to rise when the chips are down. The all-new 2026 regulations — lighter cars with revised aerodynamics — were rumoured to suit his instinctive, corner-entry-focused style.

Williams driver Alex Albon fuelled hope early in the season. “I have my person... I think it’s Lewis,” he said on a Williams podcast. “The lighter cars suit his style. He makes the corners really short.”

And deliver he did. Three decades after Michael Schumacher’s first Barcelona triumph for Ferrari, Hamilton brought the SF-26 home in style. Crossing the line, his emotional radio message resonated across Maranello: “Grazie tutti, grazie a tutti. Thank you so much — you’ve helped me achieve this dream. Couldn’t have done it without you. Grazie.”

The reaction was seismic. At 41, Hamilton became the first driver to win Grands Prix for McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari — and the oldest victor in decades. His first Scuderia win dominated global headlines, feeling like a championship triumph in its own right. Ferrari’s aggressive three-stop strategy turned Barcelona into a statement of intent. If a car wins convincingly at the technical Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, the theory goes, it can win anywhere.

That theory faces its first major test this weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. The Austrian Grand Prix has long been a stronghold for Mercedes-powered cars and Red Bull Racing on home soil. High-speed and demanding, it rewards precision and power.

Hamilton arrives carrying momentum. Ferrari will head to the Styrian mountains as dangerous underdogs — and motorsport has always loved a good underdog story. After more than a year of waiting, the Hamilton-Ferrari project finally looks to be firing on all cylinders. The question now is whether “Still I Rise” becomes the soundtrack of the rest of the 2026 season.

Let the Austrian hills roar.

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Round 8 | Austria | Sunday, 28th June 18:30 | F1TV & FanCode App

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