Charles Leclerc survives late British GP chaos to win at Silverstone

Charles Leclerc has won the British Grand Prix, sealing the ninth race win of his F1 career.

It marks Leclerc's first race win since the 2024 US Grand Prix and is Ferrari's second victory of the current season.

The Monegasque driver was the long-time race leader and was due to come under significant pressure in the closing laps from Kimi Antonelli, who had fresher tyres.

However, Antonelli suffered a major suspension issue as he chased his rival and subsequently scored no points.

Max Verstappen's race also came undone in the closing stages through a dramatic spin at Turn 15, forcing him to retire from the race.

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Leclerc controls the pace early on

On the opening lap, Antonelli couldn’t match the rapid pace off the line from Ferrari and slipped to third before the first corner.

Leclerc sailed into the lead and was closely followed by Hamilton, who also made his way ahead of the Mercedes driver.

Inside the top eight, there was trouble for Oscar Piastri who picked up damage and dropped to the rear of the field.

The McLaren driver pitted for a new front wing, but the issue all but ruined his Silverstone outing.

Further back in the pack, Alex Albon picked up a 10-second time penalty for colliding with Oliver Bearman on the opening lap.

Hamilton’s victory chances took a blow when he was deemed guilty of moving before the start lights went out, copping a five-second time penalty.

Just a few minutes later, he slipped into third place as Antonelli successfully executed an overtake into Turn 9.

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Antonelli applies pressure with different strategy

The first pit stop from the top drivers was carried out by Verstappen, who peeled into the pit lane just moments after overtaking Russell for P4.

He was followed into the pit lane a handful of laps later by team-mate Isack Hadjar, who was held in his box longer than he would have liked at over four seconds.

Red Bull breathed a sigh of relief as a virtual safety car threatened to derail its strategy, but it was short-lived as a marshal recovered an umbrella that was blown onto a run-off area.

On lap 23, both Hamilton and Russell pitted, with Hamilton losing position to his former team-mate as he served his penalty.

Race leader Leclerc was pulled in at the end of lap 25, while Antonelli was kept out for longer, warning his team not to let him be undercut by anyone else.

Behind him, Hamilton and Russell engaged in a tense wheel-to-wheel fight as they caught Verstappen, who moved ahead via his early pit stop.

However, Russell’s charge came to an end when he was forced to pit due to a slow puncture.

On lap 35, Antonelli became the last of the leaders to pit, emerging 7.5 seconds behind Leclerc.

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Late race chaos

As Antonelli closed the gap to Leclerc, a virtual safety car was called when Nico Hulkenberg pulled over to the side of the road with an issue.

Both Red Bulls and the McLaren of Norris pitted for a cheap stop.

After the virtual safety car ended, Antonelli continued his pursuit of Leclerc - before a suspension issue put an end to his run. As he trundled around the circuit, he went off on various occasions and copped a five-second time penalty, ensuring he would not finish in the points.

The race took another dramatic turn when Verstappen spun off at Turn 15, retiring from the race and causing a safety car.

Race control gave the order for the safety car to peel into the pits on the final lap for one more lap of racing, however, this was quickly reversed, meaning the grand prix finished under safety car.

With Leclerc winning, Russell recovered to second place after he moved in front of Hamilton when the latter pitted when the safety car was deployed.

However, Hamilton is under investigation for an alleged yellow flag infringement.

Following the top three, Norris was fourth ahead of Hadjar in the sole Red Bull to finish the race.

Racing Bulls' strong campaign continued as Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad crossed the line in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Gabriel Bortoleto scored a nice handful of points for Audi in eighth, while Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly got a double top 10 finish for Alpine.

With Antonelli's penalty applied, he dropped to 16th place, allowing team-mate Russell to close the gap in the standings.