Antonelli fends off Hamilton in exciting British GP sprint

The Italian stayed close to Hamilton after the Ferrari driver led away cleanly from pole, before taking the lead on Lap 9 and never coming under serious threat from there.

Antonelli eventually took the chequered flag by 2.7s, with Lando Norris coming home third after an action-packed opening half of the race.

The reigning world champion made a superb start, climbing from sixth to third on the opening lap before fending off pressure from George Russell, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, who came home fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Liam Lawson had another strong race, holding off a charging Isack Hadjar to claim the final point of the afternoon, although a late move in fending off the Frenchman is under investigation by the stewards.

The win for Antonelli extends his championship lead to 43 points over Russell, with Hamilton a further four points back in third.

Antonelli said he had enjoyed the race, particularly the opening battle with Hamilton.

“It was a very fun first ten laps with Lewis,” he said.

“We were both pushing very hard. When I got into overtake, I knew my chance was coming. And then, out of four, that lap was very close.

“I went alongside him in Brooklands, he used the boost, and I decided to wait. And then obviously going into Stowe I used everything I had. And then I was able to overtake.

“And from that point on I just tried to get into my rhythm and just try to break the overtake that he had. And then just tried to bring it home.”

 

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He added that it was great to return to the winner’s rostrum after finishing third in Austria last week and retiring from the previous round in Barcelona, adding he was hopeful of maintaining the momentum while holding off the challenge from behind.

“Obviously the momentum is there and we’re doing a great job together with the team,” he said.

“But we can’t let our guard lower because Lewis and Ferrari are doing an incredible job. And Red Bull and McLaren, they’re coming. Obviously also George is super quick.

“So we just need to keep raising that bar and keep delivering performances.”

Hamilton said he had also enjoyed the battle, admitting he did everything he could to hold off Antonelli while also dealing with windy conditions.

“[It was a] tough race to keep the Mercedes behind,” he said.

“I did say that was potentially the case yesterday. And obviously with it being so windy today, a big, big headwind down the back straight.

“I mean, he [Antonelli] came flying past. I was pushing as hard as I could. I gave it absolutely everything.

“But well done to Kimi. And yeah, we’ve got work to do to try and close that gap so we can keep up.”

The seven-time world champion explained the Mercedes was harder to hold off in certain parts of the track, adding he had tried to balance his boost mode effectively to maintain his position but was ultimately unsuccessful.

“They’re particularly quick up to Turn 6. And so I had to sometimes use the boost there,” he said.

“But one of the biggest places is when you come around Stowe. Turn 15. You get on the power and there’s no power. And that’s where he was catching me massively.

“Then getting into the overtake mode. And once he got the overtake mode, then I couldn’t hold him back after that. Because he has extra deployment through the lap.

“And I couldn’t break that one second barrier then. So as soon as that was lost, I knew he was coming.”

Norris, meanwhile, said he was happy to finish third, particularly given he had started the race from sixth.

“That was a very good race. I’m very, very happy,” he said.

“Good start. Good first lap. Not the pace to go with these guys, but I had a good battle with George and all behind me. So pleasantly surprised with today. So good.

“But it’s just a sprint. So we have to do it all over again tomorrow.”

At the start, Hamilton led cleanly away from pole ahead of Antonelli, while Norris made a strong getaway to climb to third as Verstappen dropped from third to sixth. Piastri also made early progress, jumping from seventh to join the fight with his teammate and Russell before getting a strong run on the Mercedes and passing him at Brooklands on the opening lap.

Norris forced his way past Antonelli into second on the opening lap, only for Antonelli to respond on the Hangar Straight and reclaim the position.

 

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A brief yellow flag was triggered when Alonso spun after contact with Sergio Perez, although the Aston Martin driver was able to continue and green flag racing resumed shortly after, with Perez receiving a 10-second penalty for the incident.

Russell then found a way past Norris at the end of the lap for third, while Verstappen recovered one of his lost places by passing Piastri before the end of the opening tour.

Leclerc added to Piastri’s early frustration by moving past the McLaren for sixth at the start of Lap 2, before Norris fought back to repass Russell for third later in the lap.

Hamilton and Antonelli began to stretch clear at the front by the end of Lap 3, with Hamilton one second ahead of the Mercedes and Antonelli already four seconds clear of Norris.

Behind them, Verstappen continued his recovery by passing Russell for fourth, while Gasly charged through the pack to climb to eighth as Hadjar dropped to 12th after starting eighth.

The fight from third to seventh remained fierce, with Piastri briefly getting back ahead of Russell before the Mercedes driver reclaimed the place later in the lap.

Piastri then came under pressure from Leclerc again, with the Ferrari taking the inside line at Brooklands to move into sixth as Norris continued to head a five-car train covered by only three seconds.

Lawson moved into the points on Lap 4 by passing Gasly for eighth, before Lindblad joined the battle and followed his Racing Bulls teammate past the Alpine a lap later.

Antonelli closed to within half a second of Hamilton at the front on Lap 5 as the leading pair pulled more than five seconds clear of the battling pack behind, with the race beginning to settle after a frantic opening sequence.

On Lap 8, Antonelli was all over the back of Hamilton and had multiple looks at the Ferrari, but was well covered off as they entered the final sector.

Antonelli was then able to pass Hamilton into Stowe a lap later, saving much of his boost mode to get past the Ferrari and take the lead for the first time.

Behind them, Russell also made a move into Stowe, getting past Verstappen for fourth before being promptly passed back by the Red Bull driver.

A lap later, Russell made a similar move on Verstappen, getting past him again and this time holding on to fourth as Leclerc hovered behind the battling pair.

Verstappen had another look on Lap 10 and was forced wide at Turn 4, with Leclerc briefly looking for a way through as Verstappen recovered.

Leclerc then took Verstappen for fifth into Stowe on Lap 11 as he set his sights on Russell, only to find himself back under pressure from the Red Bull driver, who refused to give up on reclaiming the position as Piastri closed in on the battling trio.

By Lap 12, Antonelli had extended his lead to 1.2s over Hamilton, while Norris found himself in a comfortable third, well behind the top two but with a strong buffer over the Russell, Leclerc and Verstappen fight.

Hadjar, meanwhile, had worked his way back into the top 10 and closed to within 1.5s of Lawson for the final point as the race entered its final five laps.

The Frenchman closed to within a second in the final laps and angrily reacted to a defensive move by the Kiwi driver on the penultimate lap, but was unable to get past in time to claim the final point.

Lawson was noted for moving under braking over the incident and will be investigated after the race.

Up front, Antonelli maintained his lead to take the chequered flag and carry momentum into the rest of the British Grand Prix weekend.

Teams and drivers return to the track at Silverstone for British Grand Prix qualifying at 4pm local time (1am AEST Sunday).

Results: Formula 1 British Grand Prix, Sprint