Norris: Hamilton can 'stick middle finger up' to critics after maiden Ferrari win

Lando Norris says Lewis Hamilton can "stick the middle finger up" to his doubters after the seven-time champion claimed a long-awaited maiden Ferrari victory in Barcelona. The win ended a difficult run stretching back to Hamilton's Mercedes farewell and snapped the Silver Arrows' early-season dominance in 2026.

Why it matters:

Hamilton's triumph represents a defining moment in his Ferrari career after a brutal 2025 debut season yielded zero podiums and fueled uncomfortable questions about whether he could still deliver at the highest level. The result also produced a landmark podium featuring British drivers in all three positions for the first time since 1968, a spectacle Norris described as "pretty special" for their home nation.

The details:

• Hamilton's victory in Spain was his first since joining Ferrari for the 2025 campaign, made possible by a major upgrade package that allowed the Scuderia to challenge Mercedes' early-season supremacy.
• The win capped a clear upward trend: after failing to score a single podium during his entire debut season in red, Hamilton had already secured three top-three finishes in the first six races of 2026 before converting his renewed pace into a dominant Barcelona victory.
• Norris, who joined Hamilton on the podium in third, hailed his compatriot's resurgence and admitted the McLaren camp had previously seen Hamilton's struggles as an opportunity to capitalize on.
• George Russell's second-place finish completed an all-British podium, the first such occurrence in Formula 1 since 1968.

What's next:

With Ferrari finally translating its potential into race wins, Hamilton could emerge as a genuine title contender if the team maintains its development trajectory through the summer. Norris remains optimistic about his own championship hopes but conceded he would prefer the Ferrari driver to slow down enough to allow for a proper on-track fight rather than a repeat of Hamilton's Sunday authority in Spain.