Antonelli beats Hamilton to Silverstone Sprint victory after decisive pass

Kimi Antonelli swept past Lewis Hamilton to win the Sprint at Silverstone, with Ferrari’s early promise fading over the second half of the 17-lap race.

Although Hamilton led the early laps from pole position, once Antonelli had overtaken him, the seven-time world champion had no answer to Mercedes’ pace.

Kimi Antonelli beats Lewis Hamilton to win Silverstone Sprint

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

The drivers lined up on the grid at a gusty Silverstone circuit with Lewis Hamilton on pole position ahead of Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen.

Hamilton made a good start off the line, but was momentarily challenged by Antonelli into Turn 1 before squeezing the Mercedes driver in the inside. Verstappen had a poor start and dropped from third to sixth.

Lando Norris attacked Antonelli for second place, but it was the other Mercedes of George Russell who was on a charge as he overtook Oscar Piastri and then made a move on Norris. The reigning world champion kept him at bay.

The yellow flags were briefly waved when Fernando Alonso went spinning after being tagged by Sergio Perez. The Cadillac driver pitted for a new nosecone after the contact and rejoined at the rear of the field.

Hamilton broke free of overtake mode from Antonelli at the start of Lap 3, with the championship leader four seconds ahead of Norris. Verstappen overtook first Piastri and then Russell to run fourth. Charles Leclerc also made a move on Piastri to snatch sixth place.

Antonelli closed in on Hamilton as the two broke free of the chasing pack, with Antonelli told to think about his energy deployment in the battle.

F1 2026: The season’s winners and losers

The results of the F1 2026 championship

The F1 2026 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

Midway through the 17-lap Sprint race, Antonelli stuck his nose around the outside of Hamilton’s Ferrari into Village. He wasn’t deterred and tried again around the outside, but Hamilton kept his line – and P1.

But corners later, down the Hanger Straight and into Stowe, the Mercedes driver blasted his way past to take the lead in the Sprint. Hamilton, who had used his energy deployment earlier in the lap to keep Antonelli behind him, had no answer for the championship leader’s pace.

Further back, Verstappen and Russell went wheel-to-wheel over fourth place as they traded positions. That brought Leclerc into play with the Ferrari driver pouncing on Verstappen for fifth.

Piastri began to claw his way into that battle in the final quarter of the race, but was still two seconds down on Verstappen. He was clear of Liam Lawson in eighth, the last points-paying position, with Isack Hadjar trying to take that off the Racing Bulls driver.

Heading into the final lap, Antonelli was two seconds ahead of Hamilton and could cruise to the line, but in typical Antonelli fashion, he kept his foot down to set the fastest lap of the race. He won the Sprint by 2.7s.

Norris was third ahead of Russell, Leclerc and Verstappen.

Piastri and Lawson completed the top eight but the latter was noted for moving under braking.

British Grand Prix: Sprint top ten

1 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +2.7
3 Lando Norris McLaren +9.7
4 George Russell Mercedes +10.6
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +12.6
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull +16.5
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren +17.5
8 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +30.2
9 Isack Hadjar Red Bull +30.9
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +35.1

The full result from the Sprint at the British Grand Prix

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: Ferrari not ‘cheating’ as Vasseur hits back at Toto Wolff comments