Untelevised Lewis Hamilton team radio emerges after ‘critical’ Spanish GP moment
Carlo Santi became Lewis Hamilton's race engineer ahead of the F1 2026 season
Untelevised team radio footage from the Barcelona Grand Prix has uncovered the joy on the Ferrari pit wall after Lewis Hamilton re-emerged leading Mercedes pair George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
It comes after Hamilton claimed the first victory of his Ferrari career in Spain last weekend.
Untelevised Lewis Hamilton team radio from Barcelona Grand Prix win
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Hamilton ended a two-year winless streak in Barcelona by taking victory for the first time since his high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of 2025.
The seven-time world champion’s record-extending 106th career triumph saw him continue his impressive start to the F1 2026 season, which has also seen him claim podium finishes in China, Canada and Monaco.
Hamilton utilised an ambitious three-stop strategy in Barcelona, starting on the soft tyres and becoming the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 11.
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He ultimately crossed the line 19.5 seconds clear of George Russell, who was promoted to third in the closing stages of the race after a technical problem for Mercedes teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton has been working with a new race engineer in F1 2026 after a change last winter, with Kimi Raikkonen’s former race engineer Carlo Santi stepping into the role ahead of the new season.
And untelevised footage from Barcelona has revealed how the Italian engineer guided Hamilton through the pivotal moment of the race, when a timely virtual safety car allowed the Ferrari driver to retain the lead after both Mercedes pitted.
Antonelli’s stop at the end of Lap 37, one lap after Russell, elevated Hamilton into the lead, with Santi telling his driver that he was now facing “the critical moment” of the race.
In an exchange that made the broadcast, Santi said: “And Kimi is in. We are P1.
He then added: “And we are planning another seven laps on this set. This is our race, give everything this seven laps. It’s the critical moment, we have our chance.”
Santi then offered an update on Russell’s progress on his first full lap after leaving the pits on a second set of hard tyres.
He reported: “And Russell 20.7 first lap after the pit.”
Moments later, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin pulled off track to retire, with the ensuing virtual safety car allowing Hamilton to pit for a second set of hards and retain the lead.
The full exchange during the pit stop phase went as follows:
Santi: “Virtual safety car, virtual safety car deployed. Stay positive, stay positive.”
Santi: “And mode safety car.”
Santi: “Flap adjust update.”
Hamilton: “I think for a hard tyre, you’ve got to put some wing in.”
Santi: “Understood.”
Santi: “And watch your delta. Watch your delta.”
Santi: “And will be double yellow in Turn 9.”
Hamilton: “What is the gap behind us?”
Santi: “If the VSC remain, we pit.”
Santi: “Twenty seconds to Russell.”
Hamilton: “What does that mean for us?”
Santi: “That you are doing good. Watch your delta.”
Santi: “I’m adding two clicks.”
Hamilton: “Yeah.”
Santi: “So box, box, box.”
Santi: “Brake balance.”
Santi: “First gear and K2 reminder.”
Santi’s tone of voice becomes increasingly excitable as he realises that Hamilton will be close to Russell when he rejoins.
Santi: “Watch for traffic, watch for traffic!”
Santi: “You are fighting Russell pit exit! You are fighting Russell pit exit!”
The Ferrari re-emerges 1.9 seconds ahead of Russell’s Mercedes, with the ‘VSC ending’ signal appearing just as he rejoins in front.
Santi: “And you are in front!”
Santi: “And virtual safety car is ending.”
Hamilton: “Great job, guys!”
Santi then advises Hamilton to disengage straight-line mode manually around the lap, with the driver anxious to know how many laps remain until the finish.
Santi: “A reminder: SM off manually.”
Hamilton: “Where? Everywhere?”
Santi: “Everywhere, yes.”
Hamilton: “How many laps left?”
Santi: “Everywhere.”
Hamilton: “How many laps?”
Santi: “Five laps advantage to Russell in terms of tyre life.”
Hamilton: “Yeah, how many laps left?”
Santi: “Twenty-four!”
The remainder of Hamilton’s race went off largely without incident, with the 41-year-old asking on Lap 51 of 66 whether he should ease his pace having established a handsome lead.
Santi: “Eight-second gap from Russell.”
Hamilton: “Should I back off?”
Santi: “Fifteen laps to go. You are doing a good job, so you can go on.”
Hamilton: “Understood.”
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