Oscar Piastri has finished fifth at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton claiming an emotional first Formula 1 win for Ferrari to become at 41, the oldest winner since Australian legend Jack Brabham in 1970.

It was veteran Brit Hamilton’s first victory since winning the Belgian Grand Prix in July 2024 while still with Mercedes, and it means the seven-time world champion has now boosted his record career haul to 106 GP victories.

Hamilton took his opportunity as runaway Italian title leader Kimi Antonelli, who had won five on the bounce coming into the race, suffered a late retirement due to engine failure, while George Russell, starting from pole, finished second.

Piastri’s McLaren team-mate and defending F1 champion Lando Norris finished third ahead of four-time champ Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

Australian star Piastri, who won in Barcelona last year, had earlier seen his hopes of a much-needed pole position sunk in the final stages of qualifying.

Despite Piastri being placed quickest after two laps of Q3, Charles Leclerc slipped off the gravel on turn four, allowing Russell, Hamilton and Antonelli to take advantage after a restart to move ahead of him for the starting grid.

Piastri’s fifth place in Spain earned him 10 points to leave him sixth overall in the drivers championship.

“A tricky day for us. We just struggled with grip and pace throughout the race, so we weren’t able to make any progress,” Piastri admitted afterwards.

“The conditions today were also very different to Friday, where we felt a bit stronger. We need to do some work to understand why we found it so difficult.”

Indeed, Piastri’s struggles have not gone unnoticed in F1 circles with two champions debating his situation after the race.

“Not going too well for him as of late. His market value has taken a bit of a plunge in the last weeks and months,” Nico Rosberg said on Sky Sports.

“A bit unexpected because last year he was really on a par with Lando all the time, and this year Lando has jumped ahead somewhat.

“With these new regulations, new cars, Oscar is not feeling too comfortable yet. So it’s a bit strange and he really needs to work on that now because he’s falling down.”

Jacques Villeneuve said it continued “the trend we saw last year” when Piastri’s form, in his view, “collapsed”.

“He hasn’t recovered. It’s really odd,” he said.

“And nobody’s talking about him any more. And that’s in the space of what, like six months? Even less.

“It’s very odd. But like we often say, you’re only as good as your last race. That’s what’s tough with sports.

“Unless you’re Lewis and you’ve won so many championships and so on. Then, okay, you get there’s something you can lean on.”

Hamilton, who has finally won his first race since joining Ferrari two years ago, was emotional after ended a streak of 40 races without topping the podium.

“They are all special in their own way, but this one is something else,” Hamilton said trackside.

“I watched Ferrari have all this success when I was younger and wondered what it would be like to win in this car. And now it has come true.”

— with 7NEWS