Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix on Sunday, sealing the ninth race victory of his Formula One career and ending a wait stretching back to the 2024 United States Grand Prix for his first win since then, as well as delivering Ferrari’s second victory of the current season.
The Monegasque driver led for the majority of the race and appeared set to come under serious pressure in the closing laps from Kimi Antonelli, who had switched to fresher tyres. However, Antonelli suffered a major suspension issue while chasing his rival and ultimately finished the race without scoring any points. Max Verstappen’s afternoon also unravelled late on, the Red Bull driver spinning off at Turn 15 and retiring from the race.
Leclerc controlled the pace from the opening lap, with Antonelli unable to match Ferrari’s rapid getaway and slipping to third at the first corner as Lewis Hamilton also moved ahead of the Mercedes driver. Further back, Oscar Piastri picked up early damage that dropped him to the rear of the field and forced a pit stop for a new front wing, effectively ending his afternoon, while Alex Albon received a ten second time penalty for a first lap collision with Oliver Bearman.
Hamilton’s own hopes suffered a blow when he was found guilty of moving before the start lights went out, receiving a five second time penalty. He then slipped to third shortly afterwards as Antonelli executed a successful overtake at Turn 9.
The first pit stops among the leading drivers came from Verstappen, who ducked into the pits moments after passing George Russell for fourth place. His teammate Isack Hadjar followed a handful of laps later but was held in his box for over four seconds. Red Bull briefly feared their strategy would be disrupted by a virtual safety car, though the interruption proved short lived after a marshal recovered an umbrella that had blown onto a run off area.
On lap 23, both Hamilton and Russell made their stops, with Hamilton losing position to his former teammate as he served his time penalty. Leclerc pitted at the end of lap 25, while Antonelli stayed out longer, instructing his team to ensure he was not undercut by his rivals. Behind the leaders, Hamilton and Russell engaged in a tense wheel to wheel battle as they closed on Verstappen, who had moved ahead courtesy of his early stop, though Russell’s charge ended when a slow puncture forced him into the pits. Antonelli became the last of the frontrunners to stop on lap 35, emerging 7.5 seconds behind Leclerc.
The closing stages brought further drama. Antonelli continued closing the gap on Leclerc before a virtual safety car was triggered by Nico Hulkenberg pulling off with a mechanical issue, prompting both Red Bulls and Norris’s McLaren to take cheap pit stops. Once racing resumed, Antonelli’s suspension problem brought his pursuit to an end, sending him off track on several occasions and ultimately earning a five second penalty that ruled him out of the points entirely.
Verstappen’s spin at Turn 15 shortly afterwards triggered a safety car, and race control’s initial plan for one final lap of racing under green flag conditions was quickly reversed, meaning the grand prix finished behind the safety car. Leclerc claimed victory, with Russell recovering to second after moving ahead of Hamilton when the Briton pitted during the safety car period. Hamilton was subsequently placed under investigation for an alleged yellow flag infringement.
Lando Norris finished fourth, ahead of Hadjar in the sole surviving Red Bull. Racing Bulls continued their impressive campaign as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad crossed the line sixth and seventh respectively, while Gabriel Bortoleto claimed points for Audi in eighth and Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly secured a double points finish for Alpine in the top ten. With Antonelli’s penalty applied, he dropped to sixteenth, allowing Russell to close the gap in the drivers’ standings.
