Kimi Antonelli claimed the first Sprint victory of his career yesterday, Saturday, July 4, and he did it in about the toughest possible place, Lewis Hamilton’s home race at Silverstone. The young Mercedes driver came out on top of a close fight with the seven time champion and extended his lead at the top of the championship in the process.
How the race unfolded
Hamilton started from pole and defended the position at the start, squeezing Antonelli toward the inside of the track. The Italian didn’t back off though. He stayed glued to the back of the Ferrari for lap after lap, waiting for his moment.
The turning point came on lap eight of the 17 lap race. Antonelli finally found a way past Hamilton and took the lead, and from there it was one way traffic. He actually pulled away over the closing laps and crossed the line 2.745 seconds clear of Hamilton at the finish.
Antonelli described the battle with Hamilton afterward as genuinely fun. He said both of them were pushing hard through the opening ten laps, that he got close on the inside at Brooklands but held back once Hamilton used his Boost, then went for it at Stowe and finally got the move done.
Hamilton was honest after the race, admitting he gave everything he had but simply didn’t have enough energy left to keep Antonelli behind, especially with a strong headwind down the back straight. He congratulated Antonelli and said Ferrari has work to do to close the gap.
Talking points from the race
The start produced a proper scrap for third place. Lando Norris briefly got ahead of Antonelli early on, only for the Mercedes driver to reclaim the spot immediately. George Russell then joined the fight and passed Norris, before the McLaren took the position back. Max Verstappen used the chaos to jump up to fourth, while Russell ultimately settled behind Norris for the rest of the race.
Further down the order, Nico Hulkenberg picked up a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, which cost him a couple of positions in the final classification. Liam Lawson held onto the last points paying spot for Racing Bulls after a fairly aggressive defensive move in the closing laps, which brought the stewards into the picture. He escaped with just a warning and kept his position.
It was also a notable day for Arvid Lindblad, who is enjoying his first season in Formula 1 and his first home race weekend. He finished tenth, ahead of both Alpine cars. Sergio Perez had a rough afternoon and finished last, on top of a ten second penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso.
Final classification
- Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
- Lando Norris, McLaren
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Oscar Piastri, McLaren
- Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
What it means for the championship
Sprint races only hand out a small number of points, but this win carries real weight beyond the numbers. Antonelli had a tough time at the previous two rounds, a technical failure in Barcelona followed by a third place finish in Austria, despite looking like the fastest driver on track at both events. Winning at Silverstone, on Hamilton’s home turf and against a Ferrari that has looked genuinely competitive in recent weekends, is a strong statement of form heading into the rest of the season.
Qualifying for the main Grand Prix follows later the same day, with the race itself taking place on Sunday.
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