Antonelli snatches British Grand Prix sprint win from Hamilton

Mercedes’ championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, has secured the Sprint Race win at the British Grand Prix, after snatching the race victory away from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

Antonelli has broken yet another record in his championship-leading sophomore season as the young Italian superstar has become the youngest-ever F1 driver to take victory in an F1 sprint since its inception, back in 2021.

The championship leader started on the front row, behind the pole sitter, Hamilton, having missed out on the top spot by 0.011 seconds.

Having spent some of the race behind the seven-time world champion, Antonelli finally got his break into the lead around Silverstone on the back Hangar Straight, on lap eight, on the run to Stowe, overtaking the multiple-world champion on the inside.

From there, Hamilton struggled to make inroads on his Mercedes successor, eventually falling back to 2.745 seconds when the chequered flag fell.

Further back, an intense fight broke out between McLaren’s Lando Norris, Mercedes’ George Russell, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with each of them chopping and changing as the race wore on.

However, it was the defending world champion, Norris, who won that fight, securing third place, nine seconds off the lead and a second ahead of Russell, coming across the checkered flag in fourth. Leclerc and Verstappen finished the fight in fifth and sixth, respectively.

In turn, this means Antonelli has extended his championship lead to 179 points. At the same time, Hamilton inched closer to his former teammate, Russell, climbing to 132 points – four points behind the second-placed Mercedes driver.

Pirelli suspects soft tyre to be competitive at British Grand Prix

Sprint Race Classification:

1. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +2.745s
3. Lando Norris, McLaren +9.783s
4. George Russell, Mercedes +10.639s
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +12.62s
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +16.55s
7. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +17.551s
8. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +30.233s
9. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing +30.953s
10. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls +35.11s
11. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +40.273s
12. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +41.026s
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Audi +41.68s
14. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi +42.499s
15. Oliver Bearman, Haas +45.784s
16. Esteban Ocon, Haas +49.81s
17. Carlos Sainz, Williams +50.379s
18. Alexander Albon, Williams +50.757s
19. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac +1m 15.117s
20. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1m 31.872s
21. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1L 
22. Sergio Perez, Cadillac +1L 

Next up is qualifying for the main event: the British Grand Prix, which will get underway at 4pm local time.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• ‘Night and Day’ says Kimi Antonelli after British GP sprint qualifying
• Lewis Hamilton credits ‘extra hundredth’ to fans after taking Sprint Pole at British GP
• Lando Norris claims damage stopped true pace at British Grand Prix sprint qualifying
• Zak Brown happy with line-up after Max Verstappen McLaren rumours
• Hamilton dominates sprint qualifying to take pole at British Grand Prix
• Hamilton tops sole practice at British Grand Prix
• Mercedes can’t assume their recent performance will continue at British Grand Prix

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Kamron Kent

Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.

I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.