Key events
Here’s Giles Richards’ report from Silverstone.
Hamilton is still under investigation for a yellow flag infringement however.
In what had been a tactical race for much of the contest, Antonelli had been chasing down Leclerc in the final third, with Leclerc believing the game was up only for Antonelli to suffer a sudden mechanical problem with the wheel shield on his front left which broke when he went over the kerbs at Copse, leaving him struggling to turn the car.
Constructors’ standings after Silverstone
1. Mercedes – 333 points
2. Ferrari – 255 points
3. McLaren – 179 points
4. Red Bull – 128 points
5. Alpine – 60 points
6. Racing Bulls – 59 points
7. Haas – 21 points
8. Williams – 11 points
9. Audi – 6 points
10. Aston Martin – 1 point
Drivers’ championship standings after Silverstone
1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 179 points
2. George Russell (Mercedes) – 154 points
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 147 points
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 108 points
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 97 points
6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 82 points
7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 76 points
8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 52 points
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 42 points
10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 39 points
11. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) -20 points
12. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 18 points
13. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 18 points
14. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – 6 points
15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 6 points
16. Alex Albon (Williams) – 5 points
17. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 3 points
18. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 1 point
19. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) – 0 points
20. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – 0 points
21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) – 0 points
22. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 0 points
British Grand Prix top 10
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
2. George Russell (Mercedes)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
4. Lando Norris (McLaren)
5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
6. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
7. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
9. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Antonelli came in 16th.
Lewis Hamilton, on the podium for now: “Big, big congratulations to Charles, winning at this Grand Prix is such a special experience, and this is a great result for our team. So congratulations to our team. Yeah, I just didn’t have it today. I, uh, I, I jumped the start, already got in the 50-second penalty, but Charles had the pace for me today. I struggled with the balance of the car, but I give it everything and I’m grateful to be up here.”
George Russell also speaks: “It’s great to be here always, and Silverstone is my first podium, so I really pleased to be sat in there. It would have been great for the fans for it to have restarted. From my side, my tyres were stone cold, so I was kind of glad to just bring them home a second but overall, good to be standing here. Anyway, I’m gonna keep pushing my team. going to keep pushing. These Ferrari guys look really quick. So, yeah, game on.”
Charles Leclerc, the British grand prix winner, speaks to Jenson Button: “It feels incredible. Unfortunately, the end was maybe not the one I will have dreamt of, but I mean, to win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficul. I felt like I had found something yesterday between the sprint race and qualifying, but I had to confirm that today, and today, the feeling was back where it needs to be.
“After Monaco, the feeling wasn’t there. I crashed in Q3, then in the race, we had an issue, and that ended our race. Then Saturday in Barcelona, the feeling was good, but then I crashed again. So that was very difficult mentally, and then on Sunday, we had an issue with the car, and Austria wasn’t so great, but here we managed to put everything together, and I really hope I can keep that momentum going forward.”
Kimi Antonelli is visibly disappointed. The cards didn’t fall his way today.
Ian Sargeant gets in touch: “Watching on a beinsports channel with local commentary i can’t follow. What’s with the stand full of yellow caps? Is there a homage to the medium tyre underway?”
Lewis Hamilton awaits a ruling on a yellow-flag infringement. Five seconds would take him down the field and out of the points. That was all rather unsatisfactory.
“Well done for sticking in there,” says Russell, who isn’t happy with his car. Toto Wolff bats back. “There was no problem with the straight line.”
“Let’s go..finally,” says Leclerc. “This one feels particularly good.” His delight is shown by him making a noise that resembles an excited Scooby Doo.
Charles Leclerc wins the British Grand Prix under safety car
52/52 There will be a final lap. The race is back on – for one lap only. Here we go….BUT oh no, the safety car has been redeployed. And there will be grand finale, as the cars amble round. Russell is in second, Hamilton in third, his 16th Silverstone penalty, after that Ferrari gamble. There’s boos from the Buckinghamshire tifosi; this has been a damp ending to a great weekend. Antonelli’s five-second penalty will mean he finishes out of the points.
51/52 The lapped cars have to get back in position. The stewards want a final lap and the safety car is dragging the pack slowly. Max Verstappen slopes off. He’s not at all happy. As has been the pattern all season.
50/52 Have Ferrari made a mistake by pitting Hamilton, and thus losing second place? To add to the pain, Hamilton flagged for a yellow-flag infringement. Antonelli is in ninth, meaning he will get more than the point he wants. But he gets a five-second penalty. He wails how unfair it is that he couldn’t stay on the track with his car un-steerable. The safety car is out there, and there’s a chance the race doesn’t properly restart.
49/52 Here comes the pits – Hamilton comes in, as does Leclerc – for soft tyres. Russell did not pit. And he has climbed to second. The Verstappen crash suggests his back end came away from his Red Bull. “This ***ing car,” he grumps.
Verstappen comes off the track – safety car
48/52 Oof, a cloud of dust as Verstappen comes off. And here’s the safety car. Max is at least off the track. His mood might have lifted with his fine driving performance but not now.
48/52 Leclerc, usually a driver full of drama, has kept it steady while everyone else has gone through all sorts of pain. Antonelli says: “I’m just going to go for it.” He is refusing to pit, and wants to stay ahead of Colapinto to claim his point.
47/52 This would be the second time in three races that Antonelli has had to abandon. Rotten luck for the championship leader.
46/52 “We’ll box the car,” say the Mercedes team. That’s that for him. He’s being chased down for Colapinto for the single point he is clinging on to.
45/52 More pain for Antonelli, who will get a penalty for coming off the track limits five times. “It’s something deeper, the wheel is in the air,” he tells his team.
44/52 Antonelli, the wheel part being ripped off in the pits, comes out in 10th. Ferrari are in the lead, with Leclerc first and Hamilton second.
43/52 Now Hadjar overtakes Antonelli. “It’s something fundamental,” he says. “We’ll box the car,” say his team. “I can try and take a point.” The problem is the front-left wheel shield. He damaged it on the road edge of Copse.
42/52 The front wing was replaced, and the steering wheel isn’t working. The repair job hasn’t worked. Out on the track, Norris overtakes Antonelli for fifth. “The car is not turning,” Antonelli wails.
Antonelli pits and loses 20 seconds and drops to fifth
41/52 The gap ebbs further down between Antonelli and Leclerc. The moment of truth will come soon. Some defensive driving will be required from the Ferrari. But what’s this? Antonelli is pitting. The car is failing him. So does the pit lane, it’s a slow repair job.
40/52 Hulkenberg’s Audi is safely sequestered. The battle can resume. Antonelli has the fastest lap as he gives chase to Leclerc. There will be NO MORE investigation of Verstappen’s skirmish with Russell.
39/52 There’s a yellow flag, a virtual safety car, as Hulkenberg comes to halt. Verstappen goes in for new, medium tyres. So does Lando Norris. “We are not in a very good place,” moans Leclerc. “What’s the plan?”
Hamilton passes Verstappen for third place
38/52 Russell has climbed back to sixth, overtaking Hadjar in the Red Bull. Hamilton and Verstappen go up against each other, and to roars, Hamilton tries to go past his old rival but can’t get there. Antonelli is flying in his chase of Leclerc.
37/52 The incident between Russell and Verstappen will be investigated, as the track boundaries were gone beyond.
36/52 Antonelli pits, and comes out in second behind Leclerc. That pit was delayed by Russell’s emergency. With the better tyres, Antonelli goes after rhe Ferrari driver. Hamilton chases down Verstappen.
35/52 Russell and Verstappen go right at it, just as Russell veers off into the pits. That sets up a battle of Hamilton and Verstappen. Russell has to put on a set of used tyres.
34/52 Russell is coming in for a slow puncture. He still tries to take on Verstappen for third place, and stays out an extra lap. He will box at the end of this lap on team orders and safety grounds.
33/52 Antonelli has 13.8 seconds on Leclerc and is still to pit. His team are telling him to stay out.
32/52 Hamilton is told by his team to “be patient, you are doing well”.
31/52 Hamilton and Russell do battle again, and at Brooklands and Copse, they again swap places. Verstappen sitting pretty as they take lumps out of each other.
30/52 Norris, flying on his hard tyres, goes past Hadjar. Antonelli wants to come in but is told by his Merc team that he must do another lap.
Hamilton overtakes Russell. Russell overtakes Hamilton
29/52 Norris pits, and comes out in seventh. The British duo go at it, Hamilton blazing through but as his boost uses up power, Russell comes back at him. All good and clean, and that’s good news for Verstappen who can plough on.
28/52 Russell’s and Hamilton’s private battle is to become a threesome as both are closing in on the Red Bull of Verstappen. Lando Norris is in third but is yet to pit, and wants to go on the hard tyres.
27/52 Hamilton is right up behind Russell, all over the rear like a rash. “Don’t let people undercut me,” demands Antonelli to the Mercedes team.
26/52 Hamilton has now set the fastest lap, and is closing in on George Russell. “Let’s go” is the command to Antonelli. The hard tyres seem to be the way to go. Hamilton is told to fight for the podium.
25/52 That 10th win looks yet more difficult after that. Hamilton was not aware he had a penalty until he landed in the pit lane. Leclerc pits, just when Antonelli was beginning to close on him. Antonelli leads, but is still to pit.
24/52 Hadjar boosts up and goes past Linblad. Hamilton comes into the pits, serves his time penalty, despite telling his team “the tyres are fine”. He comes out in sixth, a place behind Russell.
23/52 “Jeez, mate, I’ve got so much understeer it’s crazy,” says Hamilton. He’s not had a happy day, and a 10th Silverstone win seems to be slipping away.
22/52 Here comes a virtual safety car. An umbrella flew on to the track, and so it’s exceedingly brief. Ocon pits but Leclerc can’t benefit.
21/52 Leclerc and Antonelli – the gap is closing, down to under 3.5 seconds. Hamilton is dropping back from the leading duo.
20/52 Hadjar’s stop is very slow while Red Bull oppo Verstappen has just set a fastest lap on his new tyres. Hadjar drops down to 10th, and has Bortoletto in the Audi ahead of him, which takes a while in the chase of Norris.
19/52 Both Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton are complaining about their tyres. The mediums are struggling, it seems.
18/52 We shall have to wait to see if Verstappen resumes his battle with Russell. He drops down to seventh after that early pit.
17/52 Verstappen is closing on Russell, and goes past so easily at Copse. Russell tries to come back, and then Verstappen withdraws from the battle by going into the pit lane.
