British Grand Prix: Charles Leclerc wins amid late drama for Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen
F1 NewsSunday, 05 July 2026 at 17:31
Charles Leclerc won the 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone a race which started as a procession but ended with drama for Formula 1 Championship leader Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.
George Russell finished second for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton third as the race was concluded under the Safety Car that came out on Lap 48 as Max Verstappen crashed into the gravel at Turn 15.
The race started as a normal procession just after Leclerc and Hamilton passed polesitter Antonelli who had a sluggish start.
What a start from the two Ferraris 💪#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/DbcUylwlH1
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
From there on, Antonelli set out chasing the Ferraris to make amends and managed to repass Hamilton on Lap 11 and set off chasing Leclerc in the lead Ferrari.
Antonelli managed to close the gap on Leclerc who was called into the pits on Lap 25 with Mercedes keeping Antonelli out until lap 35 which gave him a ten-lap tyre offset to chase and pass Leclerc.
And that is what Antonelli did towards the end, but then trouble hit as he reported an issue on Lap 42 and slowed down. He pitted again for a new front wing and tyres as Mercedes were yet to find out what the problem was.
Here's Antonelli coming into the pits for initial repairs
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
Sound on 🔉#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/o2KZZDDApU
As it turned out, Antonelli broke a wheel shield on the left side while on the kerbs and he started dropping like a stone into the clutches of others but refused to pit trying to salvage a point.
He was slapped with a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits and ended up with no points in P16.
And while Antonelli's drama was unraveling, Verstappen running in P3 and on his way to an easy podium, which would have been a great reward after a tough weekend especially as he was driving very well up until he ended up in the gravel at Turn 15, or Stowe which brought out the Safety Car.
Here's what happened to Max 👇#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/X1BMh6spR9
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
From there, Leclerc was leading with Hamilton in second and Russell in third but Ferrari decided to shoot themselves in the foot, at least with Hamilton.
Leclerc wad called in for what was a free pitstop but Hamilton was also called and he lost a position to Russell as a result.
The seven-time F1 Champion had overcome a five-second time penalty for a false start to reach that position but the pit stop under the Safety Car cost him.
Then race control decided to add some drama of their own and as the graphics showed that the Safety Car would end with one lap of racing, the red Mercedes AMG GT stayed out and the race was finished behind it.
The @MercedesAMG Safety Car is still on track
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
Looks like we're gonna have a one-lap shootout 😮#F1 #BritishGP | LAP 51/52 pic.twitter.com/crIorzrbBa
Was it a mess up from race control? A mess from the Safety Car driver? Or is it the graphics people to blame?
Race control said it was withdrawn and redeployed... Why? We don't know.
In the end, it was Leclerc who took the win, his first since the 2024 US Grand Prix in Austin.
Russell was second, getting lucky in the end after suffering from a slow puncture on Lap 34 while fighting with Hamilton and Verstappen for P3.
Russell fights back! ⚔️
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026
The Mercedes gets back in front#F1 #BritishGP | LAP 30/52 pic.twitter.com/FOMUZpLeMM
Hamilton took third position, but is under investigation for a Yellow flag infringement at the time Verstappen's crash. He will visit the stewards after the podium.
Behind the top three
Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren while Oscar Piastri was 11th after suffering from front wing damage on the opening lap after a tussle with Liam Lawson.
Isack Hadjar started the race ahead of Verstappen but dropped behind him, but as the dust settled, the Frenchman was fifth.
Lawson delivered a nice result for Racing Bulls and was sixth with his teammate Arvid Lindblad in seventh as both driver kept their noses clean throughout the melee.
Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth fastest in the Audi as Nico Hulkenberg suffered a DNF on Lap 38.
Franco Colapinto was another driver who capitalized on the late chaos finishing the race in ninth after started from 19th as his teammate Pierre Gasly was tenth securing a double points finish for Alpine.
What the top three said
"It feels incredible," Leclerc said after ending his winning drought. "Unfortunately the end was maybe not the one I would have dreamt of.
"To win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult. All the work we put in to try to get the feeling back in the car, felt like I found something yesterday after the Sprint. But I had to confirm it today.
"Today the feeling was back where it needs to be. I'm so incredibly happy," the Monegasque maintained.
Russell reflected on a race of mixed fortunes, he said:"Great race, great to be always in Silverstone, my first podium so really pleased to be standing here.
"It was obviously a very unlucky race then got very lucky at the end with the Safety Car. It would have been great for the fans for it to have restarted but from my side my tyres were stone cold so I was glad to bring it home in second.
"Tough weekend but, overall, good to be standing here," the Mercedes driver concluded.
Hamilton added: "Firstly I have to say congratulations to Charles. Winning this Grand Prix is a great experience and this is a great result for our team. So congratulations to our team.
"I just didn't have it today. I jumped the start, got a five second penalty, but Charles had the pace on me today. I struggled with the balance of the car but I gave it everything and I'm grateful to be up here.
"It looks like it," he responded when asked if Ferrari can take the fight to Mercedes. "I'm not really sure what happened to Kimi.
"The team is doing a phenomenal job. We have some work still to do to really close the gap on pure performance but look at these results.
"Two wins for the team this year, this is fantastic," Hamilton concluded.
British Grand Prix Provisional Classification
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