Lawson equals season-best finish, Leclerc ends wait for a win at British Grand Prix

Monday, 6 July 2026

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took his first Formula 1 win in nearly two years, as a chaotic British Grand Prix ended behind the safety car on Monday (NZT), triggered after four-time world champion Max Verstappen crashed.

Meanwhile, standings leader Kimi Antonelli missed the points again with a damaged car.

Kiwi Liam Lawson equalled a season-best finish of 6th, coming home in the points again with rookie teammate Arvid Lindblad.

Leclerc surged past Antonelli at the start as the Mercedes driver dropped to third but the Italian was chasing Leclerc down in the final laps when he reported a steering problem. Leclerc took a landmark 250th victory for Ferrari under the safety car brought out by a spectacular spin into the gravel from third by Max Verstappen.

“Finally!” Leclerc said over the radio after taking the win. “This one felt particularly good, even if I wished it was a more normal ending.”

Leclerc leaped out of his car and ran to a crowd of Ferrari staff who surged forward to embrace him, toppling a crowd barrier onto their driver. Leclerc’s last F1 victory was at the United States Grand Prix in October 2024.

Lawson continues strong run

Lawson lined up on the grid in 10th, behind Lindblad. However, a double overtake on the British rookie and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri on the first lap saw the Kiwi spend much of the race in 8th.

Retirements by Antonelli and Verstappen later in the race moved Lawson up two places.

Lawson continues to sit in 10th in the championship standings with 39 points, he is now only three points behind Pierre Gasly in 9th.

Antonelli's race falls apart

After Antonelli reported issues with his car, he came into the pits but that didn't help and he started dropping back through the field. Later, Verstappen's spin shook up the race again.

Antonelli's Mercedes teammate and title rival George Russell went on to second to deny Ferrari a one-two finish, staying out on old tires when Lewis Hamilton came into the pits under the safety car.

Hamilton had fresh tires but couldn't use them because the race ended up finishing behind that safety car. He crossed the line third.

Hamilton was also facing an investigation after the race for allegedly infringing yellow-flag conditions around the time he lost the place to Russell.

Antonelli was ninth across the line after ignoring the team’s pleas to retire the car so he could fight for the final points places. He ended up outside the points anyway. The Italian dropped to 16th with a time penalty for going off-track as he wrangled his damaged car around the corners.

Mercedes has dominated the 2026 season so far but reliability is becoming its weak spot.

Antonelli has now missed the points twice in three Grand Prix races after car trouble also derailed him when Hamilton won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, and Russell had a dramatic car failure in Canada in May.

Verstappen crashes out

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen triggered the late safety car, after the Red Bull driver lost the rear of the car, and ended up skidding into the gravel trap.

Verstappen had complained about the state of his car all race, earlier telling his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase the downshifts were “s***” over the radio.

After he crashed, the Dutchman launched into expletives.

“I’m stuck, man. F*** this car, f***ing unbelievable,” he said.

Russell gets title boost despite lack of pace

Second place for Russell revives his title chances even though the British driver had struggled for competitive pace all weekend. Antonelli's lead shrinks from 43 points over Russell to 25, the value of a single race win.

Russell had been fourth in the sprint, fourth in qualifying and was battling Verstappen for fourth in the race before the late drama.

It was 'a very unlucky race… then very lucky,” Russell said.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports Germany the team believed Antonelli's car was damaged when he hit a curb on what he called a bittersweet day for the team.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren after his teammate Oscar Piastri's race was ruined by early damage, while Isack Hadjar was fifth for Red Bull.

The Racing Bulls duo of Lawson and Lindblad were sixth and seventh, ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto in eighth for Audi. The two Alpine drivers, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, ended up ninth and 10th thanks to Antonelli's penalty.

Top 10 finishes in the British Grand Prix

1: Charles Leclerc; 2: George Russell; 3: Lewis Hamilton; 4: Lando Norris; 5: Isack Hadjar; 6: Liam Lawson; 7: Arvid Lindblad; 8: Gabriel Bortoleto; 9: Franco Colapinto; 10: Pierre Gasly

– Stuff and AP