Formula 1

Ferrari 250 victory thanks to Leclerc; Hamilton finishes behind Russell due to the safety car

The Monegasque driver returns to winning ways after Austin 2024. Antonelli had fought his way back into the race after his mistake at the start, but then a mechanical failure let him down

by Alex D'Agosta

5 July 2026

Charles Leclerc, pilota monegasco della Scuderia Ferrari, vincitore della gara, posa con il trofeo sul podio al termine del Gran Premio di Formula 1 d’Inghilterra, disputato sul circuito di Silverstone a Silverstone, in Gran Bretagna, il 5 luglio 2026. EPA/PETER POWELL EPA

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Charles Leclerc won the 77th British Grand Prix at Silverstone ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, crossing the line behind the Safety Car on a Sunday where Ferrari had taken the lead at the first corner and never looked back. Antonelli, on pole after Saturday’s Sprint race, spun off the line: Leclerc capitalised immediately, Hamilton followed from the second row, and within a few corners, the race at Silverstone had already taken a different turn. From there, Leclerc managed the race whilst Antonelli chased; a mechanical failure decided the outcome before the track could. A great, well-deserved performance – excellent for his career and for making peace with his demons – but the real moral victor is Russell: thanks largely to luck (and the misfortunes of others), he is in fact the one who has made up the most points on his rival within his own garage. A true miracle, another stroke of luck – this time on his home circuit: will this run of luck last, or will the youngest and fastest driver from Bologna come out on top by the end of the year?

In any case, 5 July will go down in history for Ferrari’s result: Leclerc’s last victory had been in Austin on 20 October 2024, where the race ended with a one-two finish. Since then, 2025 has been a winless year, and 2026 began with more questions than consistency. Silverstone hasn’t rewritten the season, but it has set the record straight on one point: Leclerc hadn’t disappeared; he simply needed a full Sunday to channel his frustration and experience back into leading a race, even though, until yesterday, everything had been going against him apart from a fine qualifying session. Over the weekend, the Monegasque driver also chose to move away from Hamilton’s technical set-up, returning to a driving style that is more his own – riskier and less imitative.

The beginning that heralds an omen

Antonelli started from pole but lost traction at the start; the two Ferraris overtook him immediately, lining up one behind the other, whilst Russell slipped back to fourth place. Hamilton, however, immediately made life difficult for himself: a five-second penalty for moving the clutch before the start – a severe penalty, but one made inevitable by the sensors. After his pit stop, he had to fight his way back through understeer and traffic; the podium finish is still a significant achievement, however, coming in a race that proved tougher than expected in front of his home crowd. And after the chequered flag, he was immediately summoned to the race control: he risks another penalty because, whilst the field was running at reduced speed following the spin that took Max Verstappen out of the race, the seven-time champion may “not have slowed down sufficiently”: that very same rule which, years ago, was not taken seriously and had cost the late Jules Bianchi dearly.

Antonelli: victory lost due to a mechanical failure

The key point about Antonelli’s race is that he didn’t lose it because of the spin at the start: he had almost made up for that mistake. After overtaking Hamilton, he had the Mercedes back in Leclerc’s sights and, on lap 40, set the fastest lap, closing the gap. Then, hitting the kerb at Copse Corner damaged some components on the wheel (it was thought to be the left-front brake shield, as later confirmed by Kimi himself after the race): the car was no longer handling properly, forcing him to pit, and he received a penalty for track limits whilst battling with a car that was out of balance. He crossed the finish line in ninth place, but the classification demoted him to sixteenth: no points, after having secured pole position and, for a good portion of the second half of the race, having a possible victory almost within his grasp.

As mentioned, Russell finished second, but his race was very different from what the result suggests: outpaced by his team-mate, struggling with the gearbox and a slow puncture, he remained on track when the Safety Car brought everyone to a halt, whilst Ferrari called Hamilton in (apparently not at the ideal time) to fit the soft tyres. The right choice given his position, but also a gesture of sporting grace.

The others: Alonso’s decline and Verstappen’s anger

Alonso didn’t even wait for the actual start to confirm yet another lacklustre weekend: having qualified last, he came to a halt at Becketts during the formation lap, returned to the pit lane and set off again away from the spotlight, in an Aston Martin that was never really in the running, not even at Silverstone. On the other hand, there was pure tension at Red Bull: Verstappen complained repeatedly over the radio about the balance, insisting on a set-up that had already been proposed and rejected the day before; he then pushed beyond the limit in an attempt to defend his podium position from Russell’s charge, losing the rear end coming out of Stowe and ending up straight into the gravel.

Victory number 250 at the Wolves’ home ground: Ferrari defeats the English predators in their historic den

For Ferrari, the figure is a significant one: 250 Formula 1 victories. It comes on 5 July, just 24 hours before the United States’ 250th anniversary – a coincidence that Liberty Media will certainly know how to capitalise on better than anyone else. But the sporting point here is more concrete. Ferrari won, brought both cars home in the top three under the chequered flag, and left the impression that a one-two finish had slipped away more because of the Safety Car’s deployment than because of pace. It’s a shame: the race never really ‘restarted’ (much to the drivers’ delight, as their tyres had cooled down too much in the meantime), so Russell held onto his position and Ferrari once again found itself with a celebration that was only half as sweet: on the one hand, a massive victory; on the other, a legitimate technical question regarding the final stages of the race, which hampered a (barely) resurgent Hamilton on the very circuit he is most fond of.

Leclerc: a no-holds-barred comeback

Leclerc capitalised on Antonelli’s mistake, his own mechanical failure, Verstappen’s retirement and the Safety Car, which froze the order. Such opportunities are worth nothing if you let them slip away: he didn’t let them slip by without seizing them; on the contrary, he kept his cool, managed the gap as Antonelli closed in, and sealed the deal without messing anything up.

This time, he managed to rise above even the minor setbacks that had so often ruined his other (and there were quite a few) well-planned Sundays: traffic, lapped cars, a pit entry that wasn’t entirely smooth, and a late Safety Car that could have thrown everything into disarray. These weren’t major incidents like Antonelli’s breakdown or Verstappen’s crash, but they were enough to mar the race. Leclerc didn’t let them become an excuse.

Ferrari leaves Silverstone with a win and a podium finish, whilst waiting to find out whether it will also be a one-two that slipped away due to a ruling rather than on the track. Leclerc got a car back on track that seemed to rely too heavily on finding the right window; Mercedes salvaged crucial points with Russell and lost a victory that was already in the bag with Antonelli; Red Bull remains inconsistent in terms of pace and confidence. The standings show Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton. The race, pending the stewards’ verdict, tells a slightly different story.