The racing action continued at Silverstone, this time for the full-length FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2026. After winning the sprint race on Saturday, Kimi Antonelli continued that strong performance to secure pole position for the grand prix, with Charles Leclerc securing a spot on the front row, looking for his first victory since 2024.
Kimi Antonelli had a good initial start from pole position, but struggled for grip in the second phase of the start. This may have been because the cars sat on the grid for slightly longer than normal, thanks to Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin, which came to a brief stop at turn 13 during the formation lap. Charles Leclerc, alongside, had a very quick start from the front row, taking the lead before the first corner. Lewis Hamilton also managed to overtake the slow Mercedes before the first corner, making it a Ferrari 1-2.
There was drama further back on the opening lap. Alex Albon spun Oliver Bearman in turn seven, washing wide into the Haas. This would earn him a ten-second penalty. Oscar Piastri also had some trouble on the opening lap, making contact with Liam Lawson and damaging his front wing. He dropped to the rear of the field after pitting for a new one.
Hamilton received some bad news in the opening laps, being told he was given a five-second penalty for moving on the starting grid before the lights. The car jolted forward slightly with three lights illuminated. He remained in his grid slot and was stationary when the lights extinguished, but it was enough to earn a penalty, which he would serve during his pit stop.
Antonelli was under pressure from George Russell on the opening lap, but Russell was under pressure from the two Red Bulls behind him on the second lap. Max Verstappen was tired of looking at the back of his teammate’s car, overtaking him with a brave lunge on the inside of turn four after a couple of laps. The top three drivers quickly began to break away from the rest of the field.
Antonelli promoted himself to P2 on lap 11, overtaking Hamilton down the straight before Copse. Verstappen made a similar move on Russell on lap 17, just before he dove into the Red Bull pit box for new hard tyres.
There was a brief hope that the other teams may be able to pit under the virtual safety car when it was deployed for a rogue umbrella that had found its way onto the circuit. But the marshals made quick work of wrangling it and getting the race going again before anyone was able to reach the pit entry.
After pitting, Hamilton and Russell became involved in a multi-lap battle. It was pass and repass between the two. Hamilton overtook Russell around the outside of Copse only to be overtaken again on the Hangar Straight. Hamilton got by again a couple of laps later on the outside of Brooklands, but again was overtaken by Russell on the straight leading to Copse.
As the battle with Hamilton simmered, Russell was free to attack Verstappen. He attempted to overtake on the inside of Stowe, but Verstappen held on. Russell did manage to get the move done the following lap after going side-by-side into Stowe, but this was only moments before he dove into the pit lane. It was an unexpected stop for a slow right-rear puncture that was reported by the pit wall.
On lap 38, the virtual safety car was deployed when Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi came to a stop at Copse with a mechanical failure. This allowed some drivers like Verstappen and Norris to take advantage of a cheap pit stop under the VSC.
With ten laps remaining in the race, Antonelli began to suffer severe understeer, complaining that something had broken on the car. He was running at the front after extending his first stint, having pitted just before the VSC. Mercedes called him into the pit lane, swapping his tyres and replacing the front wing, but the problem persisted. The team discovered that the wheel shield on the front-left wheel had broken loose and was stuck against the suspension. They called him back into the pits to remove the damaged part.
Still struggling to get the car turned for the corners, Mercedes decided to retire the car, but Antonelli refused, insisting he would continue to fight for the points. To rub salt in the wounds, the stewards decided to give Antonelli a five-second penalty for violating track limits while he was suffering from the understeer issue. But it seemed like he would still manage to hang onto P10 and build a five-second gap to the Alpine behind.
That was until Verstappen spun into the gravel at Stowe on lap 48. He was running in P3, chasing down Hamilton, when he lost the rear of the car. It seems like it may have been a mechanical issue of some sort. He was beached and out of the race, frustrated by the quality of this year’s Red Bull. The safety car was deployed.
With a comfy lead, Leclerc made a free pit stop for the soft tyres. Gambling on the race restarting, Hamilton also pitted under the safety car, losing track position to Russell. Everyone was preparing for a one-lap shootout, with the safety car set to come into the pit lane. But, bizarrely, the safety car didn’t come in, and the race concluded without any more racing, much to the disappointment of the British fans. This was because the call to unlap the cars came too late and, according to the FIA, the message that the safety car was ended was due to a software glitch.
As the cars came across the line, it was Charles Leclerc in the lead, winning his first grand prix since the United States Grand Prix back in 2024. George Russell stood on the second step of the podium, while a disappointed Lewis Hamilton had to settle for P3.
But the order on the track may not be set in stone. Hamilton has been placed under investigation for an alleged yellow flag infringement, which could impact the results. Additionally, Antonelli, who dropped to P16 after finishing P9 on the road, may still have a chance to appeal his penalty.
Next on the calendar is a back-to-back weekend that will bring us to summer break. First will be the Belgian Grand Prix, which is set for July 19.
| Pos. | Driver | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 52 | 1:27:11.335 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 52 | +0.427 | 18 | ||
| 3 | 52 | +0.772 | 15 | ||
| 4 | 52 | +1.149 | 12 | ||
| 5 | 52 | +1.598 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 52 | +2.023 | 8 | ||
| 7 | 52 | +2.214 | 6 | ||
| 8 | 52 | +2.413 | 4 | ||
| 9 | 52 | +3.229 | 2 | ||
| 10 | 52 | +3.445 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 52 | +4.014 | |||
| 12 | 52 | +4.391 | |||
| 13 | 52 | +5.245 | |||
| 14 | 52 | +5.512 | |||
| 15 | 52 | +7.403 | |||
| 16 | 52 | +8.005 |  | ||
| 17 | 52 | +8.162 | |||
| 18 | 51 | +1 Lap | |||
| 19 | 51 | +1 Lap | |||
| DNF | 46 | ||||
| DNF | 43 | ||||
| DNF | 36 |
| 1 | K. Antonelli | 179 |  | |
| 2 | G. Russell | 154 | -25 | |
| 3 | L. Hamilton | 147 | -32 | |
| 4 | C. Leclerc | 108 | -71 |  |
| 5 | L. Norris | 97 | -82 | |
| 1 | Mercedes | 333 | | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 255 | -78 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 179 | -154 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 128 | -205 | |
| 5 | Alpine | 60 | -273 | |
