THE BIG PICTURE: Remember, Lewis Hamilton was in second place after Monaco. So, Kimi Antonelli actually lost 25 points from his lead, not 18, which George Russell gained on him. We still need a few more races before we declare this a true three-way battle, but if, like Norris fears, Ferrari makes improvements to their engine, we could be in for quite a ride.

EVENT: The Spanish GP moved to Madrid, but the contract kept this event around for an overlap year. And now, with a new contract alternating with Spa, it will stay. Albeit, it will skip a year returning in 2028.

TRACK: Only three times since this track was used in 1991 has someone not from the front row won a race. In fact, the percentage of times the pole sitter wins the race is higher than Monaco. It is simply not a track conducive to passing.

QUALIFYING: Russell finally returns to the pole, Hamilton stuns the field with an outrageous lap, Antonelli was off the front row for the first time this year, Norris is solid, Leclerc is shaking his head, Lindblad is disappointed, and Aston Martin continues to be useless.

RACE: Despite the difficulty passing, the race took on quite a lot of excitement in the second half. And the new regulations did permit some more passing.

START: Ferrari isn't getting those lightning starts anymore, but Hamilton does hold off an aggressive Antonelli, Russell gets off quick and holds the lead then immediately extends it, and Hadjar spins his wheels getting swallowed up losing nine positions.

HAMILTON: Reports of the end of Lewis' career have been greatly exaggerated.

FERRARI: Superb strategy. Ferrari. There's an oxymoron we never expected. And even without the luck of the VSC, Hamilton was winning that race due to that great strategy.

LECLERC: Clearly being outperformed by his teammate in the last few races.

RUSSELL: Beginning his comeback tour. Kind of. George did not have an answer to Antonelli in the final stint. But he'll take the 18 points gained which were gifted to him just like what happened to him in Montreal.

ANTONELLI: Eventually, Kimi's luck was going to run out.

MERCEDES: Forget the reliability issue for now which is an obvious concern. Mercedes was caught flat-footed and reacted poorly to Ferrari's superior strategy.

MCLAREN: It feels like they are just a few upgrades from being right back into winning contention mode.

VERSTAPPEN: Attrition helped, but still surprising Max got a car he hated into fourth place.

HADJAR: Isack was right with his teammate the whole weekend, and put in a superb comeback drive after his abysmal start.

GASLY: After celebrating a Monaco podium a week late, somehow he got his Alpine into seventh place.

WILLIAMS: Once again, really, really underwhelming.

HULKENBERG: One of the most bizarre retirements. Kicked up gravel from Sainz hit Nico's emergency fire switch, putting the car into immediate shutdown mode.

ALBON: While Alex lost a ton of time because they had to fix the roll hoop camera.

ALONSO: Could the rumors be true? Will Fernando return to Alpine and more importantly to his old pal and manager, Flavio Briatore? And if so, will this be another case of a team becoming great after he leaves them?

ASTON MARTIN: Can this team be relegated? What a colossal waste of money and driver/engineering/design talent.

BOTTAS: Let's face it, Valtteri is getting his ass kicked by Sergio Perez.

FIA: The way the stewards have to handle a protest, they have to be shortsighted. And the way Alpine's Monaco evidence was presented, the decision the stewards came up with was logical. Within the box they have to keep to. It is not their responsibility to see the wider ramifications of the decision. That is the FIA's job. And wider ramifications there certainly are.

F2: Indian Kush Maini took the lead at the start from the reverse grid second starting spot and led the rest of the way. Brazilian Rafael Câmara lost the feature race lead at the start from pole, regained it a few laps later, fell back to third after the mandatory pit stops, and then stormed back for the win in an overall brilliant drive.

F3: Aussie James Wharton took the lead early and then survived charges and two restarts to win the sprint race. Frenchman Théophil Naël took the feature race win from pole, his first F3 victory, as all the action was behind him.

LE MANS: Toyota returns to the top step thanks to solid reliability. While Corvette salvages America's (and GM's) honor with an LMGT3 victory, after Caddilac faltered in Hypercar.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: (He's) Back.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 41 years, 5 months, 7 days -- Lewis Hamilton is now the sixth oldest driver to win an F1 race. Next on the list is Jack Brabham at 43 years, 11 months, 5 days. Hamilton is now also the only driver to win races for McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: It is extraordinary with so many excellent British drivers over the years -- heck, decades -- that this is the first time since 1968 there was an all British podium. It was the USGP at Watkins Glen. Mario Andretti (Lotus-Ford) thrilled the home crowd with pole, but in the end, the top three were Jackie Stewart (Matra-Ford) -- who took the lead on the first lap from the second starting spot and led the rest of the way, Graham Hill (Lotus-Ford), and John Surtees (Honda). Only six of the 19 starters finished the race.

TWEET OF THE WEEKEND: From @jonwheatleyrb1:

Brembo have withdrawn their supply of brake discs for Charles Leclerc for this weekends Barcelona GP after his Monaco outburst.

He'll have to lift and coast into every corner, but at least he should be used to it. #F1

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Outside of the paddock, there may have been a lot of people who wrote off Lewis Hamilton. From within the paddock, they knew, and Lando Norris said it best, "There are people who have spoken ill of him and spouted a lot of bullshit online, so it's nice that he can flip the bird to all those people."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Toto Wolff certainly knows what Hamilton can do, "I'd rather not fight with him for a title, because I know what he's capable of. If he smells blood, he goes. I've seen it many years where suddenly the Lewis Hamilton train started to go and then it's very difficult to stop it."

SCHEDULE: After a week off, we go to two iconic venues -- the beautiful (singing) hills of Austria and the history (and flatness) of Silverstone.

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