When the soaring emotions began to settle one question remained. After his life-affirming maiden win for Ferrari in Barcelona, is Lewis Hamilton in contention for the Formula One drivers’ championship?

Typically, in a sport where there are innumerable competing voices, it depends who you ask. But with the 41-year-old’s consummate display at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya capturing his first victory for the Scuderia, there is no doubt Hamilton remains among the elite drivers on the grid.

The fact he finished almost 20 seconds ahead of the second-placed George Russell in the Mercedes demonstrated that Hamilton’s singular talent, given the right circumstances and car, will always make him competitive.

Circumstances and car, of course, are the infinite variables: that is where the fascination lies for what British fans hope may become a classic season.

Hamilton trails by 41 points. Another retirement for the drivers’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli – with reliability an increasing concern for Mercedes – plus another strong result for Hamilton, and the Briton is firmly in the fight. On paper, a seven-times world champion hunting down a talented but inexperienced 19-year-old would expect to come out on top.

But on tarmac? What the experts call “tyre deg” (degradation) was decisive in Spain. Ferrari’s three-stop strategy allowed Hamilton to ease away from his Mercedes rivals on fresher tyres late in the race. Will things fall into place so perfectly again? And – more importantly – can Ferrari’s engineers continue the upward curve in performance they showed here?

Hamilton was ninth-quickest in the second practice on Friday, 1.205sec off the fastest time, and 0.702sec off the leader in the third session. It had been a “very, very difficult weekend”, he said after qualifying, admitting surprise at the pace that enabled him to nearly snatch pole from Russell.

Looking ahead – this being Formula One – there are technological regulations to consider. The new ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) system is a “development mechanism” designed to encourage close competition between manufacturers.

With Red Bull’s ICE [internal combustion engine] ruled the benchmark by the FIA after five rounds, the regulations give Ferrari two upgrade opportunities in 2026 compared to only one for Mercedes, based on their respective performance.

Having completed the first all-British podium since 1968, Lando Norris of McLaren was emphatic on the Ferrari machine’s potential. “We’re lucky Ferrari doesn’t have a better engine,” Norris told Sky Sports F1. “They’re the class of the field in terms of cornering performance … If they make improvements on the engine side, they’ll embarrass everyone.”

The preferred arithmetic for Hamilton fans is simple, then: serial title winner, plus vastly improved car, equals eighth world championship.

In his customary deadpan style, the Ferrari team principal, Fred Vasseur, dampened down talk of a Hamilton charge. Asked if the team would give everything for their driver in a potential title battle he said: “I’m not sure I want to reply … I had some comments [from the media] two weeks ago that everything was a disaster. Now we are speaking about a world championship? … The approach is to go to Austria exactly with the same approach as in Barcelona, and not to think about the championship.”

Had he won a sixth consecutive race, meanwhile, the clamour surrounding Antonelli would have sky-rocketed. Still, no driver in history has failed to take the title after winning five in a row. Antonelli said of Ferrari: “One very strong point of theirs is reliability. If they keep putting in strong performances like this, they’re going to be a threat.”

Another factor is the growing duel between the Italian and his teammate Russell: the Briton conceded their absorbing mid-race arm-wrestle had cost him precious time in Barcelona. With the Mercedes pair continuing to scrap, as seems certain, Hamilton can be the beneficiary.

“There is a third party now involved in the championship fight,” said Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, referring to Hamilton. “In that respect we will discuss internally with them, the two drivers, how we want to handle the situation where we risk holding each other up.”

With motor sport’s pre-eminent circus heading to Austria in a fortnight, before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 6 July, the McLaren team principal, Andrea Stella, offered his assessment of Ferrari v Mercedes.

“Ferrari is fastest in the corners,” he said. “Probably Mercedes, over a single lap, is the best car overall when the chassis and the power unit are considered.”

Mercedes will hope to reassert their superiority at the Red Bull Ring in two weeks, but if the weekend proved anything, it is that nothing can be taken for granted.

Wolff’s catchy line about Hamilton “smelling blood” smacked of a useful hook for the Drive to Survive production crew. But Wolff, like Antonelli, unquestionably sees Hamilton as a threat. “Absolutely,” Wolff said. “It’s wide open.” Hamilton, surely, will agree with his old boss.