Leclerc wins British GP as Antonelli’s lead is cut

LONDON: Charles Leclerc claimed victory for Ferrari in a dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, with the race ending behind the safety car after Max Verstappen crashed out late on. The result gave Ferrari its 250th Formula One win, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli failed to score for the second time in three races and saw his advantage reduced to 25 points.

Leclerc took his first win since 2024 and the ninth of his career in front of a sell-out race-day crowd of 175,000 at the circuit where the Formula One world championship began in 1950. Mercedes driver George Russell finished second after benefiting from late developments, while seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton placed third for Ferrari in his home race despite an earlier five-second penalty for jumping the start. McLaren’s reigning champion and 2025 race winner Lando Norris came home fourth.

Speaking after the race, Leclerc said the finish was not the ideal spectacle for supporters, but admitted he was relieved there was no late restart.

“It feels incredible. Unfortunately the end (safety car finish) was maybe not the one I would have dreamt of”, he stated.

Antonelli loses ground after late problem

Antonelli, who had won Saturday’s sprint, started from pole but dropped behind at the start before recovering strongly. He later reclaimed position and led from laps 26 to 36, putting himself in contention for victory, but his race unraveled 11 laps from the finish when he slowed and informed his team of a problem.

The 19-year-old Italian eventually crossed the line in 16th as he tried to salvage points in a damaged car, but a five-second post-race penalty for exceeding track limits pushed him out of the top 10. Mercedes said the issue stemmed from a front-left wheel shield failure after he hit the kerb at Copse. The team first brought him in for a front wing change and then pitted him again on the following lap to clear debris.

Leclerc said Antonelli had been closing quickly before the problem struck.

“With Kimi, it would have been close, he was very fast when he was coming towards me. It would have been very difficult to keep that first place. Then I heard he had a problem so I was like Okay, now I have a big gap and it should be straightforward”, he stated.

After nine rounds, Antonelli leads the standings on 179 points, ahead of Russell on 154 and Hamilton on 147. Antonelli had held a 66-point lead after Monaco in June, when he secured his fifth successive win. In the constructors’ championship, Mercedes remain top on 333 points, followed by Ferrari on 255 and defending champions McLaren on 179.

Late safety car shapes final order

Verstappen crashed with four laps remaining while battling for third, bringing out the safety car and freezing the order. Russell, who had already made two pit stops during the race, including one because of a slow puncture, held on to second after making his way back through the field.

Hamilton might have taken second, but Ferrari chose to pit him when the safety car was deployed, dropping him behind Russell. Hamilton was also investigated for a possible yellow-flag infringement, but the stewards decided to take no further action.

A message on the timing screens indicated that the safety car would come in for one final lap of racing, but that information was later found to be wrong. The FIA said proper procedures had been followed and that the 'safety car in this lap' notice had appeared because of a software error.

Points finishers and unusual interruption

Isack Hadjar finished fifth for Red Bull, with Racing Bulls drivers Liam Lawson and British rookie Arvid Lindblad in sixth and seventh. Gabriel Bortoleto took eighth for Audi, while Alpine pair Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended up 11th after a first-lap collision with Lawson forced him to pit for a new front wing and dropped him to 21st on the road. In an unusual incident on lap 22, the virtual safety car was deployed after an umbrella blew onto the track and had to be removed by a marshal.