The Formula One circus was back at the circuit where it all began: Silverstone. This time it was for the FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2026. But before the grand prix on Sunday, the fans were given a taste of the action with a 17-lap sprint around the former airfield.
Kimi Antonelli had a strong start from the front row, putting pressure on polesitter Lewis Hamilton in the first corner. He tried to get his Mercedes by on the inside, but Hamilton kept it held around the outside to maintain the lead. George Russell had a tough time in the other Mercedes, dropping behind both McLarens in the opening corners. Max Verstappen also had a bad start, losing three positions at the start.
Lando Norris briefly found himself in P3 on the first lap, having overtaken Antonelli on the straight before Copse. Antonelli retook the position later in the lap, and Norris lost an additional position to Russell, who overtook both McLarens in the final sector. Norris got back to P3 the following lap again on the straight leading to Copse.
On the third lap, it was Verstappen’s turn to attack, overtaking Russell with ease down the main straight. He also attempted to promote himself to P3 with a big lunge on Norris into the third corner, but ran too deep and immediately lost the position to Norris again.
Back at the front, Hamilton was quickly under pressure from Antonelli behind. It came to a head on lap 8 with an easy overtake down the Hangar Straight, putting Antonelli in the lead of the race.
The Hangar Straight proved to be a popular overtaking place, with Verstappen losing two positions on the following two consecutive laps. The first was to Russell and the second was to Charles Leclerc, who was also recovering from a lacklustre start.
There will be more racing tomorrow at Silverstone as the drivers will compete for full points in tomorrow’s full-length grand prix.
| 1 | K. Antonelli | 179 |  | |
| 2 | G. Russell | 136 | -43 | |
| 3 | L. Hamilton | 132 | -47 | |
| 4 | L. Norris | 85 | -94 |  |
| 5 | C. Leclerc | 83 | -96 | |
| 1 | Mercedes | 315 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 215 | -100 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 167 | -148 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 118 | -197 | |
| 5 | Alpine | 57 | -258 | |
