Charles Leclerc won his first Formula 1 victory in almost two years after taking advantage of a mechanical problem for Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the British Grand Prix. George Russell led Mercedes to second position, and Silverstone record holder Lewis Hamilton made a double podium for Ferrari, BTA reported.
Kimi Antonelli made an unexpectedly weak start to the race and was overtaken by the Ferrari cars on the straights, while Leclerc defended his starting position and led ahead of Hamilton. The Italian Mercedes driver finished third ahead of his teammate Russell, who held off the fierce attacks of the two Red Bull cars behind him.
Lando Norris finished seventh, while behind him his teammate Oscar Piastre was hit by Liam Lawson's tire and broke his front wing, forcing him to make a long pit stop on the second lap.
Leclerc's lead grew to over two seconds by the seventh lap, but Hamilton's problems were just beginning. The nine-time winner of "Silverstone" was penalised by the stewards for driving before the lights and had to wait an extra five seconds in his first pit, and he was also overtaken by Antonelli on lap 11 and dropped to third place.
The standings were mixed after the pit stops, with Antonelli trying to make the most of the medium-compound tyres and staying on the track until the end of lap 36. He returned in second, 7.7 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, and the real race for first place began at that point. Behind them, a duel for third place was formed between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman on a deficit, but also on newer tyres from the second pit behind the safety car.
Antonelli quickly set a best lap and closed to within 5 seconds of Leclerc on lap 39, but Mercedes' strategy collapsed just three seconds later. The Italian suffered suspension damage and made two pit stops. This sent him to the bottom of the top ten, and a penalty knocked him out of it in the final standings.
Antonelli's problems left Leclerc alone in first place and he was flying towards his first victory since October 20, 2024, but Max Verstappen crashed five laps from the end and the safety car came out. The Ferrari drivers immediately made another pit stop and while Leclerc remained first, Hamilton returned behind Russell with hopes of attacking with fresh tires.
However, this did not happen at all, after the race control initially declared a free final lap, but the safety car never returned. Thus, Leclerc finished first ahead of Russell, Hamilton remained third, and the champion and last year's winner Lando Norris finished in fourth position.
Antonelli finished 16th and remained with 179 points in the standings, while Russell now has 154, despite an extremely difficult weekend at "Silverstone". Hamilton is third with 147 points.