Leclerc wins British Grand Prix as Silverstone ends under Safety Car

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has taken the race win at the British Grand Prix, beating Mercedes’ George Russell and Scuderia teammate Lewis Hamilton as the event finishes under the safety car.

Feature image credit: Pirelli

Leclerc converted second place on the grid into the race win as the Monegasque took his first victory of the year, and it marks his first return to the top step of the podium since 2024 at the United States Grand Prix.

The #16 Ferrari managed to get the race lead at the race start, getting a better getaway compared to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who lost position to Hamilton too, falling to third into the first corner. However, on lap 12, Antonelli managed to overtake Hamilton into Copse to take second.

However, he was becoming increasingly under pressure from Antonelli as the race wore on, after the Italian pitted on lap 36, with 10-lap-younger tyres. But, it was not to be from the Italian who suffered damage to his car at Copse, with a failure of his left front wheel shield. As a result, he ventured into the pits with a couple of stops, trying to fix the issue.

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This allowed Hamilton to move up to second place, over 20 seconds adrift of Leclerc, who remained the race leader.

Nursing his car, Antonelli was then hit with a five-second time penalty for track limit violations, compounding a disappointing race at Silverstone.

Russell did not have a straightforward race after battling it out for fourth place, with a chance to secure third early on in the Grand Prix. A slow puncture on lap 33 brought that belief out of the realm of possibility, forcing him to pit for another set of tyres, dropping him to seventh.

But, when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen lost control at Stowe, on lap 48, beaching himself in the gravel, the Briton stayed out on the track when the safety car was deployed, whilst both Leclerc and Hamilton pitted for used-but-fresher soft tyres.

Chaos ensues in British Grand Prix LEGO Driver Parade

Whilst Russell was not able to overtake Leclerc, the Mercedes was able to slip by Hamilton, who was on his way out of the pits to take second place over the seven-time world champion.

As the safety car remained out, the British Grand Prix ended in a procession behind the safety car, with Leclerc leading Russell and Hamilton across the finishing line. At the same time, Antonelli finished the race well out of the points, in 16th place.

In turn, it means Russell edges closer to his teammate with 154 points to his name, compared to Antonelli’s 179. Additionally, Russell steps away from Hamilton, who remains third, seven points behind.

However, there is an investigation against Hamilton, so the fallout of this race may not be over. So, we will keep you updated as this story continues to develop. 

The finishing order:

1. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
2. George Russell, Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
4. Lando Norris, McLaren
5. Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
6. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
7. Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
8. Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi
9. Franco Colapinto, Alpine
10. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
11. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
12. Carlos Sainz, Williams
13. Oliver Bearman, Haas
14. Esteban Ocon, Haas
15. Sergio Perez, Cadillac
16. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
17. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
18. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
19. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Retirements;

• Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
• Alexander Albon, Williams
• Nico Hulkenberg, Audi

Read more Formula 1 here:

• Chaos ensues in British Grand Prix LEGO Driver Parade
• What are the tyre strategies for the British Grand Prix?
• Pierre Gasly given grid penalty for impeding at British Grand Prix
• Russell final qualifying run ‘compromised’ ahead of British Grand Prix
• Kimi Antonelli takes pole position for the British Grand Prix
• FIA share reasoning on Perez penalty at British Grand Prix sprint
• Antonelli snatches British Grand Prix sprint win from Hamilton

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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.