A Sprint win and a pole position, Kimi Antonelli has the form and the starting position to make the best of the 2026 F1 British GP. Further down the grid Pierre Gasly has a three-place grid penalty for impeding Lance Stroll, putting him in P15. Stroll has a penalty as well for power unit change, putting him at the back of the grid.
During the formation lap Fernando Alonso came to a halt, but eventually could get going. It does force him to start from pitlane however.
Ferrari seizes the opportunity at the start
Unfortunately for Antonelli he cannot keep both Ferraris behind him at lights out. Charles Leclerc leads from Lewis Hamilton as the field goes onto the Wellington Straight. Max Verstappen passes Lando Norris and Isack Hadjar puts pressure on George Russell, as Alex Albon spins around Ollie Bearman in Brooklands. This will cost the Thai driver a pit stop for a new nose and a ten-second penalty for causing a collission. Oscar Piastri fears he has damage and dropped to P14 at end of lap 1.
Verstappen goes past Hadjar into The Loop, and manages to stay ahead of him on the Wellington straight. In the meantime Piastri is in the pits to change his front wing.
As the pack settles, Lewis Hamilton is noted for ‘moving before the signal’. A few moments later this is investigated and turned into a five-second penalty. A tough blow for his quest for a possible tenth British GP victory.
In the midfield Gasly is busy moving forward, as he is in 11th as lap 10 comes to an end. He is closely followed by teammate Franco Colapinto. This proves the race pace of the Alpines is better than their qualifying pace.
Antonelli in the meantime has had enough of hanging behind Hamilton and passes the Briton into Copse. The gap to Leclerc has grown however, it is a little over four seconds now.
Despite complaining about his downshifts, Verstappen has managed to close the gap to Russell and is now within a second. At the same time, Hadjar is coming under pressure from Norris.
Verstappen goes for the undercut
Albon stops for the second time in lap 16, serving his penalty. One lap later Verstappen overtakes Russell into Copse, and the two squabble all along Hangar straight, but the Dutchman stays ahead. He does pit immediately however, trying to undercut the drivers ahead.
Up front the gap between Leclerc and Antonelli stays around the four second mark, with a similar gap back to Hamilton.
Hadjar decides to box in lap 20, taking himself out of the fight with Norris. It is a slow stop however, which drops him behind Gabriel Bortoleto, requiring him to make an unnecessary overtake.
Antonelli understands the pitstops for the leaders are coming up and decides to close the gap to Leclerc.
In lap 22 the Virtual Safety Car is out because an umbrella was blown on the track. The interruption was thefore short lived, meaning none of the leaders could profit of it.
Hadjar has cought up with his successor at Racing Bulls, Arvid Lindblad. The young Briton however refuses to go out of the way easily, meaning he loses some significant time.
Hamilton and Russell stop in lap 24, with the Ferrari having to serve a penalty. This means they leave the pits in reverse order, but more importantly, behind Verstappen.
Russell and Hamilton slug it out for best Brit
Knowing the power of the undercut, Leclerc stops two laps later, but does so after lapping a Cadillac. This means his inlap is slightly compromised. He does however come out clearly ahead of Norris.
Hamilton is quickly back at the rear wing of Russell, who in turn is chasing down Verstappen. This beautifully sets up a threeway fight for third.
New leader Antonelli fears he’s being undercut, but the gap to Verstappen stays on the positive side for the moment.
Norris stops in lap 29, dropping him back just behind Hadjar, but with significantly fresher tyres.
Hamilton has more speed going into Copse and overtakes Russell, and the fight continues into Maggots before the Mercedes driver yields. Russell does however has more energy coming onto Hangar Straight, meaning he easily passes Hamilton again.
And while Verstappen complains about his tyres, the battle between the former Mercedes teammates means he has some breathing room. Especially when Hamilton overtakes into Brooklands, only to be re-overtaken into Copse.
With 20 laps to go, Russell starts to put the pressure on Verstappen. He has six laps younger tyres, but also has to watch Hamilton behind him. And when Russell gets the message he has a slow puncture, he tries to overtake Verstappen into Stowe. The four-time champ stays ahead, as Russell is told to box the next time around. However, he does try to overtake Verstappen one more time.
This all means Verstappen is now under pressure from Hamilton, while both a long way behind Leclerc in second. Second becomes first when Antonelli stops, who unfortunately has a slow Nico Hülkenberg ahead of him in the fast lane.
Russell, now on medium tyres, overtakes Hadjar for sixth, as Verstappen and Russell are noted for the final overtake attempt Russell made.
Heartbreak for Antonelli again
With 15 laps to go Antonelli is putting his 10-lap tyres offset to good use as he drives the fastest lap.
Hamilton now really puts the pressure on Verstappen, and manages to overtake the Red Bull driver into Brookslands.
The Virtual Safety Car again is deployed as Hülkenberg has to park his car on the inside of Copse. This prompts Verstappen, Norris and Hadjar to stop. Hadjar even has time to change his front wing, such is his gap to Lawson.
Stroll in the meantime is under investigation for his fifth track limits infringement, meaning he will receive a five-second time penalty. The incident between Verstappen and Russell is not worthy of any further investigation.
Right when the crowd is preparing for a final showdown between Leclerc and Antonelli, the latter is called to the pits to change his front wing. He comes out ahead of Norris, but cannot defend going into Brooklands and goes straight ahead. The team reveals it is a suspension issue, but Antonelli wants to continue, salvage whatever points possible.
All this means Ferrari is set for a 1-2, as Antonelli stops once again. The team does something at the left front wheel, and sends the Italian back out in tenth. He does however again go straight in Brooklands.
Late drama as Verstappen crashes out
With five laps to go, Leclerc’s lead is comfortable, and Verstappen also doesn’t seem to be closing the gap to Hamilton quite quick enough.
Antonelli is now also under investigation for track limits, meaning he will get a five second penalty. The gap with Colapinto is increasing however, so the championship leader stays out to try and increase the gap.
The drama isn’t over however as Verstappen spins out going into Stowe. Replay sThis time the Safety Car proper is deployed, promptimg a lot of drivers to the pits. Among them Leclerc and Hamilton, who both switch to soft tyres. Russell stays out however, putting him in front of Hamilton.
The lapped cars are given the signal to overtake with just two laps to go, meaning there is going to be a last lap shoot-out for the podium places. However, the safety car does not enter the pitlane.
This means Charles Leclerc wins the 2026 F1 British GP, from Russell and Hamilton. Norris is fourth, Hadjar fifth and Lawson sixth. Lindblad finishes seventh from Bortoleto, Colapinto and Gasly.
Full results of the British GP can be found here.
