F1Scope Tyre Strategy Report: How Ferrari’s Multi-Stop Gambit Dismantled Mercedes in Barcelona

The 2026 Barcelona Grand Prix saw Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton secure victory using an aggressive three-stop strategy (S-H-M-H), effectively countering the conservative two-stop approaches of his rivals. By exploiting the pace advantage of the Medium compound in a critical middle stint, Hamilton dismantled the lead held by Mercedes' George Russell, highlighting the efficacy of compound offsets against high thermal degradation at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.