Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday, 5 July 2026, ending a wait of nearly two years. The Monégasque Ferrari driver crossed the line in 1:27:11.335, delivering the historic 250th victory in the Italian team's Formula 1 history.
The race finished behind the safety car after Max Verstappen's spectacular spin into the gravel while running third. Leclerc had passed championship leader Kimi Antonelli at the start as the Mercedes driver dropped to third, and the Italian was closing in during the final laps before reporting a steering problem that ended his charge.
Joining Leclerc on the podium were George Russell (Mercedes) and Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari). Russell finished just 0.427 seconds behind, with Hamilton 0.772 adrift, denying Ferrari a one-two finish. Hamilton, on fresh tyres, could not use them because of the safety car and kept third despite a reprimand for allegedly breaching yellow-flag conditions.
For Leclerc it is a first win since the United States Grand Prix in October 2024. "Finally!" he said over the radio. "This one felt particularly good, even if I wished it was a more normal ending." The Monégasque leapt from his car to embrace Ferrari staff, toppling a barrier in the celebration.
It was a bitter day for Antonelli, the long-time standings leader. After reporting car trouble he pitted without improvement, fell back and ended outside the points following a time penalty for going off track. His championship lead over Russell shrank from 43 to 25 points, the value of a single race win.
Mercedes, dominant for much of the 2026 season, is now paying the price for reliability: after Antonelli's issues in Barcelona and Russell's failure in Canada, the German team's inconsistency is reshaping the title fight at the midpoint of the year.
Sources
https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2026/great-britain
https://apnews.com/article/f1-britain-antonelli-hamilton-russell-leclerc-913905ac17a3293ab5192659c349480b
