Leclerc ends wait for a win at British Grand Prix as F1 leader Antonelli hits more trouble
Silverstone, England: Charles Leclerc claimed his first Formula 1 win in nearly two years after the chaotic British Grand Prix ended behind the safety car on Sunday, leaving qualifying leader Kimi Antonelli to miss points again with a damaged car.
While Leclerc overtook Antonelli at the start, the Mercedes pilot fell to third place, but the Italian driver reported that he had a steering problem while following Leclerc in the final laps. Leclerc took the victory under the safety car after Max Verstappen made a spectacular comeback from third on the gravel.
“Finally!” Leclerc said on the radio after taking the win:
“This felt especially good, even though I wanted it to have a more normal ending.”
Leclerc jumped out of his car and ran towards the crowd of Ferrari employees who came forward to embrace him, crashing the crowd barrier onto the drivers. Leclerc’s last F1 victory was at the United States Grand Prix in October 2024.
Antonelli pitted after reporting problems with his car but this was of no use and he began to head back into the field. Then Verstappen’s return shook the race again.
Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate and championship rival George Russell took second place, denying Ferrari a one-two finish by retiring on old tires when Lewis Hamilton pitted under the safety car.
Hamilton had new tires but could not use them because the race ended behind the safety car. He crossed the line third.
Hamilton also faced a post-race investigation for allegedly breaching yellow flag conditions when he lost his place to Russell.
Antonelli crossed the line to finish ninth after ignoring the team’s request to retire the car so they could challenge for the final points. He’s already out of the points. The Italian driver fell to 16th place after receiving a time penalty for going off the track while competing in corners with his damaged car.
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