Lewis Hamilton says his first-ever Formula One victory with Ferrari is "beyond his wildest dreams" after winning the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Hamilton won an F1 race for the first time since Belgium in 2024, ending his second-longest winless run in the sport, and became the seventh-oldest driver to take the chequered flag.

He profited from a virtual safety car during the race, with his strategy leaving Mercedes with no answers.

And, with Kimi Antonelli retiring in the latter stages of the race, Hamilton has also cut the Italian's lead in the Drivers' Championship to just 41 points with this win.

"How do you find the right words to express an emotion that's beyond your wildest dreams?" he said.

"I truly believed in my decision in joining Ferrari. I truly believed in what this team could achieve, what we could achieve together. And I know it started out with lots of excitement and then lots of doubt and lots of negativity that followed through a whole year.

"My fans really rescued me last year, my family also, and friends that stuck with me through it all.

"Starting into a new season, a new year, lots and lots of changes enabled me to get to this position that I'm in. I just feel a lot of gratitude, a lot of pride, and very, very proud of the people that I work with.

"They're so passionate and have so much humility, and they are so kind. And, you know, seeing them sing the national anthem was, wow, was an incredible feeling, man. Just the best."

Hamilton is now the driver with the most wins at Montmelo (seven, overtaking Michael Schumacher's six), as well as the one with the most podium finishes at the Catalan circuit (13).

"Every day I've been having this dream since I was a kid," he told Sky Sports F1.

"In 1996, Michael [Schumacher] won here for Ferrari, and I remember watching the red car and always wondering what it would be like to be winning in that car and what it would be like to stand on that podium and be the one that's kind of given the team the moment to sing the national anthem.

"There's nothing like it, it's absolutely incredible."