Lewis Hamilton denied by Kimi Antonelli in British GP sprint race

Lewis Hamilton denied by Kimi Antonelli in British GP sprint race Last updated 04 July 2026 1:05pm BST Save Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Add us as preferred source Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Kimi Antonelli extended his championship lead with victory in the British Grand Prix sprint race Credit: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images Luke Slater live updates. Tom Cary Senior Sports Correspondent, at Silverstone Last updated 04 July 2026 1:05pm BST Save Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Add us as preferred source Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Kimi Antonelli handed Lewis Hamilton’s army of fans a reality check with a controlled victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the British Grand Prix. Hamilton had sent Silverstone’s grandstands into raptures on Friday when he claimed a dramatic sprint pole, by just 0.011sec, from Italy’s precocious teenage championship leader. But despite a good start, in which Hamilton had to defend robustly from Antonelli into turn one, the seven-time world champion was powerless to prevent the Mercedes from cruising past him into Stowe on lap eight. Antonelli feinted as if to overtake into Brooklands, forcing Hamilton to deploy energy to defend, and then powered past him on the back straight. And Antonelli take the lead! 🔀#F1Sprint #BritishGP | LAP 8/17 pic.twitter.com/I3JwlMSrmj — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 Antonelli wasted little time in breaking the one-second gap to Hamilton – in which drivers can deploy “overtake mode” and was able to surge to victory by nearly three seconds, setting the fastest lap on the final lap. “Kimi, well done. Did the fastest lap make you happier at the end?” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff asked him. “Yeah it made me happier,” came the response. McLaren’s Lando Norris was a distant, albeit encouraging third, ahead of George Russell, who will be increasingly concerned at his inability to match his Mercedes team-mate so far this weekend. The fans at Silverstone will also be a bit deflated at what this result might mean for Sunday’s feature race. “It’s tough race to keep the Mercedes behind,” Hamilton admitted. “I did say that would potentially be the case, and also [there was] a big big headwind down the back straight and he came flying past.  “Once he got the overtake mode I couldn’t hold him back. As soon as that was lost, I knew he was coming.” Qualifying for the main race takes place at 4pm UK time. British Grand Prix, sprint classificationKimi Antonelli, Mercedes 8ptsLewis Hamilton, Ferrari 7ptsLando Norris, McLaren 6ptsGeorge Russell, Mercedes 5ptsCharles Leclerc, Ferrari 4ptsMax Verstappen, Red Bull 3ptsOscar Piastri, McLaren 2ptsLiam Lawson, Racing Bulls 1pt Latest updates Luke Slater live updates. Tom Cary Senior Sports Correspondent, at Silverstone 1:02PM What was Norris’s issue? Link copied to clipboard He does not specify. “Just something that we should be doing a better job on,” he says. “Just some things we need to better as a team,” he adds.  He is then asked about whether there should be a Russell grandstand... “I just have more passionate fans and I think better fans,” Norris says. “Mine [the ‘Landostand’] was just more wanted from a public point of view,” he says.  12:59PM Press conference quotes Link copied to clipboard Hamilton says there is more time to find from himself, the drivers say the quality of the racing was pretty much how they expected it to be if not a little better. Hamilton surprised that Ferrari were strong. Norris pleased in his sprint race performance.  12:51PM Updated driver standings Link copied to clipboard 12:42PM Antonelli reacts to sprint victory Link copied to clipboard “It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis, we were both pushing very hard. When I got into overtake I knew my chance was coming and that lap was very close I went alongside in Brooklands. I decided to wait and going into Stowe I used everything I had. From that point on I tried to get into my rhythm and tried to break the overtake I had and tried to bring it home.  “The momentum is there and we are doing a great job together with the team. We cannot let our guard lower because Lewis and Ferrari are doing an incredible job, red bull and McLaren are going and obviously George is super quick. We just need to keep raising that bar and keep delivering performances.” 12:39PM Hamilton on second Link copied to clipboard “Tough race to keep the Mercedes behind. With it being so windy today, big headwind down the back straight he came flying past. We’ve got work to do to try to close that gap so we can keep up.  “They were particularly quick up to turn six so I had to sometimes use the boost there. One of the biggest places is turn 15... you get on the power and there’s no power. Once he got the overtake mode I couldn’t hold him back. As soon as that was lost, I knew he was coming.” 12:37PM Norris reacts Link copied to clipboard “That was a very good race, I am every happy. Good start, good first lap... not the pace to go with these guys but I had a good battle with the guys behind me. It’s just a sprint so we have to do it all again tomorrow. There was a couple of things we can do better for later and tomorrow. Good race, good points. George was catching me pretty quickly at the end.” 12:33PM Norris not happy with something Link copied to clipboard Asks his team to “just get it right”. Not sure what he is referring to exactly. Or even generally.  Antonelli gets the fastest lap on the final lap, for what it’s worth. 2.745sec his winning margin.  12:31PM ⏱️British GP sprint classification Link copied to clipboard ANT 8ptsHAM 7ptsNOR 6ptsRUS 5ptsLEC 4ptsVER 3ptsPIA 2ptsLAW 1pt 12:30PM 🏁KIMI ANTONELLI WINS THE BRITISH GP SPRINT RACE! Link copied to clipboard He crosses the line to take his first sprint win and extend his championship lead. Just too quick for Ferrari and Hamilton in the end.  12:29PM FINAL LAP Link copied to clipboard Not sure we will see a change of position anywhere here. Possibly Lawson and Hadjar might swap.  Hadjar is fighting Lawson for the final point! ⚔️#F1Sprint #BritishGP | LAP 16/17 pic.twitter.com/1wGicfkmfQ — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 I don’t think Russell has the pace to trouble Norris for third. Hamilton appears to have settled for second now; 2.5sec behind he is. 12:29PM Lap 16 of 17 - Hadjar unhappy Link copied to clipboard He says Lawson moved under braking “so hard” into Stowe. He very much did, though how much of it was him just taking the corner. Think Hadjar has a point, though. Can he get eighth and take a literal championship point, though? 12:27PM Lap 15 of 17 - Can Russell catch Norris? Link copied to clipboard One second is the gap now and 0.6sec faster the Mercedes was on the last tour of this track.  Antonelli leads Hamilton by more than two seconds.  12:26PM Lap 14 of 17 - Antonelli leads Hamilton by 1.3sec Link copied to clipboard Bodes well for a competitive Sunday, this. Mercedes look to have the ultimate pace, though.  A proper Noah’s Ark look to the bottom half of the order: Alpines in 11th and 12th, Audi in 13th and 14th, Haas in 15th and 16th, Williams in 17th and 18th and Aston Martin in 20th and 21st. Perez is a lap down, not sure what happened to him.  12:24PM Lap 13 of 17 - Hamilton slipping back now Link copied to clipboard 1.7sec the gap to leader Antonelli now. Norris a further 5.4sec behind. Not sure Hamilton has the pace to challenge for victory here. But he does close the gap by a few tenths by the time the lap is done.  12:22PM Lap 12 of 17 - Top eight and gaps Link copied to clipboard ANTHAM +1.7NOR +6.9RUS +9.9LEC +10.8VER +11.8PIA +13.5LAW +21.1 12:21PM Lap 11 of 17 - Hamilton still sticking around Link copied to clipboard He is back to within a second at the start of the lap, but then that stretches to 1.2sec by the end of the lap... The RUS-LEC-VER battle continues to yo-yo. Positions not changing yet, but it is closing up. Norris 2.5sec or so ahead of Rusell and in the final podium spot. The battle for P4 😮 Russell ⚔️ Verstappen ⚔️ Leclerc#F1Sprint #BritishGP | LAP 10/17 pic.twitter.com/7GmJ22PYWk — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 12:19PM Lap 10 of 17- Verstappen and Russell battle Link copied to clipboard Russell forces Verstappen wide at the start of the lap and onto the Wellington Straight. He has the track position into Brooklands and Luffield. Verstappen now vulnerable to Leclerc behind.  Hamilton has dropped back to outside of a second behind Antonelli. Is the race done and dusted now? Leclerc then overtakes Verstappen up the inside as they head into Stowe. Russell has just moved a little further ahead of that battle now.  12:18PM Lap 9 of 17 - Antonelli looking quick Link copied to clipboard 0.9sec ahead of Hamilton now. He hasn’t dropped back dramatically since being overtaken. Russell and Verstappen having a strong battle for third and Russell then gets fourth place without too much fuss. I don’t think that will be the end of that battle, though. Norris next up the road... 12:16PM Lap 8 of 17 - Antonelli takes the lead! Link copied to clipboard Antonelli is closer than he has been before. He goes onto the Wellington Straight but Hamilton defends well. That was as vulnerable as Hamilton has been so far. Might just be a case of biding his time as he closed up on the Hangar Straight.  Has he got the power into Stowe? Yes, he has. Well, in fact a long time before that... Hamilton evidently used up his battery to defend and Antonelli took the lead out of the corner... 12:15PM Lap 7 of 17 - Hamilton leads Antonelli by 0.7sec Link copied to clipboard The battle behind them is closing up to Norris. Verstappen, Russell and Leclerc, to a lesser extent, are gaining ground.  Here is the top eight:  HAMANTNORVERRUSLECPIALAW 12:12PM Lap 6 of 17 - The gap at the front is fairly steady... Link copied to clipboard Antonelli manages to close up in the middle sector but he cannot get quite close enough to consider a move. He is been around 0.7-0.9sec behind consistently, though.  12:12PM Lap 5 of 17 - Hamilton leads Antonelli Link copied to clipboard Antonelli looking marginally faster. The top two have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, a five-second gap back to Norris.  12:09PM Lap 4 of 17 - Hamilton leads Antonelli by 0.9sec Link copied to clipboard More positions switching, it is hard to keep up frankly. Lots of chopping and changing in the early laps behind the race leader Hamilton Here's Russell getting past Piastri 👀#F1Sprint #BritishGP | LAP 3/17 pic.twitter.com/u0A6XMjXgP — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 Russell has dropped back from the battle for third and Leclerc is closing in on him for sixth. 12:08PM Lap 3 of 17 - Top 10 as it stands Link copied to clipboard HAMANTNORVERRUSPIALECGASLAWLIN 12:07PM Lap 2 of 17 - Norris hunting down Russell again Link copied to clipboard And he gets him, back into third... Hamilton leads Antonelli by 1.2sec, meanwhile.  Leclerc down into seventh... Verstappen’s turn to make progress, overtakes Russell and moves into fourth. Yo-yo racing is well and truly back.  12:06PM THE BRITISH GP SPRINT RACE IS GO! Link copied to clipboard It’s not a brilliant start from Hamilton and it is a better one from Antonelli. Hamilton goes around the outside and manages to make it stick. He was ahead, just about, but he had to defend. Verstappen has slipped down the order into sixth from third... The McLarens are charging... Norris is through into second! Piastri into fourth behind him... Antonelli back through, though into second, which helps Hamilton.  Russell makes progress, though and gets Norris for third, with Antonelli ahead... a dramatic opening lap. 12:03PM The formation lap is go Link copied to clipboard Everyone away cleanly... 11:59AM Starting tyre types Link copied to clipboard Not much variation in the top 10. Everyone but Lawson, on the softs, is on the mediums. In fact only three other drivers are on the softs: Bottas, Alonso and Stroll.  11:53AM It is busy out there... Link copied to clipboard Full house on the grid! 😅#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/DfCspRzK84 — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 565,000 is the predicted attendance this weekend, which would be an F1 record... not sure how many are on the grid, though. Or indeed whether team members and media count as attendees. They are attending, though, so surely they must.  Anyway, about six or seven minutes until we get going... 11:45AM Driver standings Link copied to clipboard It is difficult to gain too much from a sprint race, but you can lose a chunk if something goes wrong. It might be damage limitation for Russell and a couple of others today. Hamilton, meanwhile, will be looking to overtake Russell and put himself back into second in the standings after a tough week in Austria last weekend.  11:42AM British GP sprint: starting grid Link copied to clipboard 1. HAM 2. ANT 3. VER 4. LEC 5. RUS 6. NOR 7. PIA 8. HAD 9. LAW 10. LIN 11. GAS 12. BOR 13. HUL 14. COL 15. SAI 16. ALB 17. OCO 18. PER 19. BOT 20. ALO 21. STR PIT LANE: ALB Albon is starting from the pit-lane for these reasons: “Alex will start today’s sprint from the pit lane, allowing us to make setup changes and gather learnings for the rest of the weekend and season,” Williams report.  11:39AM Average qualifying position in 2026 Link copied to clipboard The chart above is inclusive of sprint races as well as main grand prix qualifying sessions. It is all relatively close between the team-mates. The closest-matched pairs are Russell and Antonelli and Ocon and Bearman, with just 0.83 places on average between them whilst the biggest gap is between Albon and Sainz, an average of two places. It has not been a good season for Williams, and especially Albon.  11:35AM The pit lane is open Link copied to clipboard Good morning from Silverstone! 🇬🇧 We have a green light in the pit lane 🤩 T-minus 30 mins until the start of #F1Sprint ⏳#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/sizNuS1fRv — Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026 A little more cloud cover today than yesterday. Air temperature is around 22C and track temperature at 35.2C. Only the lightest of breezes around in the air.  11:28AM What’s eating Charles Leclerc? Link copied to clipboard Credit: Jayce Illman/Getty Images It has not been a happy season for Charles Leclerc. In fact, it is arguably his trickiest season in Formula One to date, and a significant contrast to last year. He trails team-mate Hamilton by 46 points after eight rounds and is being beaten 7-5 by Hamilton in qualifying. Across the entirety of last season, he only beat Leclerc seven times, so he has already matched that.  Worse than that is the recent trend. Post Miami, Leclerc trails 5-1 in qualifying and has lagged behind in races (a consequence of the former issue) too. The Monegasque does not look quite as lost as Hamilton was last season, but he is struggling to understand what is happening (beyond struggling with the brakes), let alone being able to reverse it 11:22AM Watch: Hamilton takes sprint pole Link copied to clipboard Take it away, Crofty... Comms cam for that Lewis Hamilton Sprint pole at Silverstone! 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/tI8lmKxraE — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 4, 2026 Mercedes have not often been beaten over one lap this year, but this lap was worthy of that.  11:12AM Sprint qualifying classification Link copied to clipboard Aston Martin are in a real pickle.  11:04AM Good morning Link copied to clipboard Welcome to our live coverage for the Saturday of the 2026 British Grand Prix, which is an action-packed day. First up is the sprint race, at noon, where Lewis Hamilton will start on pole position.  This is a track he knows so well and where he has triumphed more than anybody else in F1. Still, it was at least a little surprise to plenty here to see him take pole. He did not expect it and I am not sure many others here expected it. Mercedes were thought to be too strong on a track that places a strong premium (or so we thought) on energy recovery.  The question is whether Hamilton and Ferrari have the pace over a sprint race distance to hold onto the win. Supplementary questions are whether Mercedes can overcome their deficit (which, admittedly was small) to take pole in qualifying for the main grand prix later today. As for the race tomorrow, well, there are so many unknowns. As strong and surprising as Hamilton’s lap was, let us not get too far ahead of ourselves. He may not even finish on the podium this weekend. Credit: Peter Powell/Shutterstock There was more frustration for George Russell, who was down in fifth and more than 0.3sec adrift of his team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli. The Italian has been better at hitting the ground running this season, and that sets up nicely for a sprint race weekend. Again, he did not seem to be able to explain the size of the deficit. That said, he was not the only one of the front-running teams’ drivers who struggled relative to their team-mate.  The problem for Russell is not just the gap, but these types of performances. Plenty of time to turn it around, though. Starting with the sprint, which starts in around an hour.