Kimi Antonelli struggling to swallow two pointless races in the last three

Antonelli started the race from pole, and while his bad start meant that he was overtaken by Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, he set out chasing them, passing the latter on Lap 11 at Copse.

After that, Antonelli went on chasing Leclerc, who pitted first while Mercedes kept the Italian out on track, bringing him in for tyres after ten laps, hoping the tyre offset will help reel the Monegasque in.

Antonelli started closing the gap at a rate that was alarming for Leclerc and Ferrari, who then took a sigh of relief as the #12 Mercedes started slowing down.

Both Antonelli and Mercedes did not know the issue at first, and a pit stop was done for new tyres and a new front wing, but the problem persisted.

Antonelli started dropping down the order, and while he stayed on track trying to salvage a point, a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits (his car was out of control) and a Safety Car meant he was out of the points in 16th when the chequered flag was waved.

With a DNF in Barcelona and a pointless race in Silverstone, Antonelli's run of wins seems to be a distant memory, with luck now abandoning him. 

He reflected: "We had an incredible run with five races, five wins in a row, and everything was probably going too much on my way.

"We had two DNFs in three races, and obviously it's tough to swallow, because Barcelona I was running P2, here I was going for the win.

"I think we had a real shot, and I was within striking distance. It's a shame I didn't even have the chance to try, but it is what it is.

"It went this way, and the most important is that we bounce back stronger," the 19-year-old concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)