Hamilton’s victory, in such convincing style, has inevitably raised questions about what he and Ferrari can go on to achieve.

The team entered this year with high hopes that the new regulations for chassis and engine could give them a chance to return to the front.

So six consecutive Mercedes victories at the start of the year, and the obvious fact that Ferrari’s engine was lagging behind the best, were an unwelcome surprise.

The Ferrari car was as good as anything else in the corners – perhaps the best – but that was not enough to compete with Mercedes.

Barcelona changed all that. Ferrari introduced their second major upgrade of the year, to follow the first at the fourth race of the season in Miami.

And on a track where power is not such an important part in lap time, it made a critical difference.

Hamilton was left behind by Antonelli in Monaco a week ago, on a track where power is even less important. But this time he was the fastest driver in the race.

The win – in combination with Antonelli’s first retirement of the year – puts Hamilton 41 points adrift of the Italian, and extends his lead over Russell to nine.

And under F1’s engine rules, Ferrari have been granted two upgrades this season, Mercedes only one. The first could come, it is said, as early as the next race in Austria.

Hamilton has been seeking that elusive eighth title ever since he lost it in the controversy of Abu Dhabi 2021. To achieve it with Ferrari would be one of the biggest stories F1 has ever seen. Can he do it?

“With the way that the year started out, I have not really been thinking about it like that,” Hamilton said. “I’ve not been thinking about an eighth.

“Mercedes have come out the gates with a blistering car and blistering pace, both drivers doing such a great job. We know we have this power deficit.

“There’s going to be tracks where we go to with long, long straights where that makes it even harder.

“But we’ve got a great car at the core and if we keep adding performance and we can go through the corners quicker, maybe we can narrow that deficit down a little bit until we improve or until we close the gap on power.”

Wolff said: “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.”