by F1 correspondent Michael Butterworth
BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won Sunday's British Grand Prix in dramatic fashion after championship leader Kimi Antonelli's victory bid was wrecked by a mechanical problem, while a late Safety Car helped George Russell snatch second place from Lewis Hamilton.
Leclerc led much of the race after surging past pole-sitter Antonelli at the start and appeared to have one hand on victory before Antonelli, on tires 10 laps fresher, rapidly closed the gap in the second half of the race.
But the Mercedes driver's challenge ended when a broken front-left wheel shield damaged his car, forcing two unscheduled pit stops and dropping him out of contention.
Leclerc looked set to finish nearly 30 seconds clear of Hamilton before Max Verstappen spun into the gravel at Stowe with four laps remaining, triggering a Safety Car and bunching up the pack.
Ferrari opted to pit Hamilton for fresh soft tires, while Mercedes left Russell on track. The race finished behind the Safety Car after a planned restart was abandoned, leaving Russell to inherit second ahead of Hamilton.
The late decision also prevented Hamilton from using his tire advantage to attack Russell, while boos echoed around Silverstone after hopes of a one-lap sprint to the finish evaporated. The FIA later said an earlier message indicating racing would resume had been issued because of a software error.
Leclerc's first victory since the 2024 United States Grand Prix also continued Ferrari's resurgence following Hamilton's victory in Spain two races earlier.
"It feels incredible," Leclerc said. "To win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult. All the work we put in to try to get the feeling back in the car, felt like I found something yesterday after the Sprint. Today the feeling was back where it needs to be. I'm so incredibly happy."
Antonelli's misfortune transformed both the race and the championship.
The 19-year-old, whose title lead had stood at 66 points after winning five straight races through Monaco, started from pole but lost the lead immediately as Leclerc made a brilliant launch into the opening corner, with Hamilton also passing the Mercedes driver.
Leclerc steadily built an advantage while Hamilton struggled with front tire graining and eventually surrendered second place when Antonelli swept past at Copse on lap 11.
Ferrari controlled the opening stint as Leclerc extended his lead to more than four seconds before the pit-stop cycle began. Hamilton's race became more complicated after he served a five-second penalty for a false start during his first stop, dropping him behind Russell and into a fierce battle involving the Mercedes driver and Verstappen.
Russell complained of gearbox issues early in the race before later being told he had a slow right-rear puncture, forcing an additional stop. Hamilton eventually cleared Verstappen after several laps of hard racing, apparently securing third place.
At the front, Ferrari brought Leclerc in on lap 25, while Mercedes kept Antonelli out for another 10 laps. The strategy left Antonelli just over seven seconds behind after his stop, with considerably fresher tires.
The Italian quickly erased the deficit and cut Leclerc's lead to under three seconds with 11 laps remaining, appearing poised to take control thanks to Mercedes' superior straight-line speed.
However, Antonelli suddenly identified a problem after running over the curbs at Copse, radioing his team to report that something had broken.
Mercedes initially suspected front-wing damage before diagnosing a broken front-left wheel shield. The team removed the damaged component during a second stop, but Antonelli's steering remained compromised as he struggled to keep the car on the circuit.
"I hit the kerb every lap. That lap, I probably hit it less even than previous laps, and I could feel instantly that something broke," Antonelli said. "It was a shame because we had a real shot for the win today."
Determined to salvage points, Antonelli continued despite repeated trips beyond the track limits. Although he crossed the finish line ninth, a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits dropped him to 16th and out of the points.
Russell's second-place finish reduced Antonelli's championship advantage to 25 points, while third-placed Hamilton moved to within 32 points of the Italian.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren ahead of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad taking sixth and seventh for Racing Bulls.
Gabriel Bortoleto claimed his and Audi's best finish of the season in eighth, while the two Alpines of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.
Verstappen blamed a rear-wing failure for his crash.
"When it happens one time, that can happen," the Red Bull driver said. "Two times, it's getting very dangerous for me because you can really hurt yourself at these high-speed corners when it happens."
The 10th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on July 19. ■
