Antonelli beats Hamilton to victory in action-packed Silverstone Sprint

Kimi Antonelli has claimed his first-ever Sprint win after beating Lewis Hamilton to victory in an action-packed 100km dash at the British Grand Prix, with Lando Norris completing the top three amid plenty of battles across the field.

Hamilton held the lead from pole as the event got underway, squeezing Antonelli off the line to defend his position – but Antonelli remained hot on the tail of the Ferrari as the laps ticked down, keeping the pressure on throughout.

The decisive move came on Lap 8, with the championship leader surging ahead into P1 before stretching out an advantage at the front – and from there he was untroubled at the front, ultimately crossing the line by 2.745s from Hamilton.

Norris took third place in the McLaren, the British driver keeping Mercedes’ George Russell at bay who had to settle for P4. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc followed in fifth ahead of Max Verstappen, while the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson completed the points-paying positions in seventh and eighth.

Lawson, however, will be investigated for moving under braking following a late battle with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who had to settle for P9. Arvid Lindblad placed in 10th – the Racing Bulls driver enjoying his first home weekend as an F1 driver – ahead of the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto.

The Audi pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were 13th and 14th – though the former will also face a stewards’ investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage – while the Haas cars of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon followed in 15th and 16th.

Next up were Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon for Williams, ahead of Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. Sergio Perez rounded out the order in P22 for Cadillac, the Mexican picking up a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alonso.

More to follow

AS IT HAPPENED

With only one hour of practice taking place on Friday at Silverstone, there were still plenty of unknowns when the drivers and teams entered Sprint Qualifying later on – with some, including Russell, subsequently surprised by the pace of Ferrari as Hamilton sealed Sprint pole in front of his local fans.

The Briton had faced close competition from Antonelli, however, who would join him on the front row after setting a time that was just 0.011s adrift of the seven-time World Champion’s. Verstappen was a further three tenths back in third, ahead of Leclerc, Russell and the two McLarens.

It was confirmed in the build-up to Saturday’s event that Williams had changed the set-up of the suspension on Albon’s car under parc ferme conditions and without the approval of the Technical Delegate, meaning that the Thai driver would start the 100km dash from the pit lane.

Meanwhile the other 21 cars lined up on the grid in preparation for the fourth Sprint of the season, with conditions looking set to be dry and mostly sunny. It was confirmed when the tyre blankets were removed that most of the field had bolted on the medium compound for the 17-lap encounter – the exceptions being Bottas, Alonso and Stroll on the soft rubber.

Once the formation lap had been completed and the lights went out, Hamilton squeezed Antonelli to the inside as he successfully held onto P1, while behind them Verstappen dropped backwards and the McLarens enjoyed a strong launch to move ahead. Later in the lap Norris found a way past Antonelli into second, only for the Italian to retake the position.

Russell then brought himself into the fight, the Briton passing Norris for third – before the McLaren returned to P3, while Verstappen subsequently overtook Russell to climb up to fourth in a frantic opening few laps.

While the yellow flags were briefly thrown following a spin for Alonso towards the rear of the pack – the Aston Martin having been tagged by Perez, with the Cadillac consequently pitting for a new nosecone – it was still all go at the front, with Leclerc snatching P6 from Piastri as the fourth tour ticked down.

By Lap 5, Hamilton led by 0.5s from Antonelli ahead of Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Piastri and Lawson, the Racing Bulls driver running in the last points-paying position with Hadjar having dropped back to 12th.

Antonelli was continuing to keep the pressure on Hamilton, who had just one Sprint win to his name so far at last year’s Chinese Grand Prix. The Italian appeared glued to his rival – and after looking to make a move several times on Lap 8, the Mercedes driver used Boost to surge past on the Hangar Straight.

Meanwhile the stewards confirmed that Perez would receive a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Alonso, while Verstappen was being chased down by Russell – who then moved up into P4 at Stowe on Lap 10.

Verstappen was not giving up, though, and had another look at Russell before running out of room, allowing Leclerc to close in on the Red Bull in the process. The Monegasque soon made his move, dropping Verstappen down to sixth place.

All of this gave Russell a little more clear air in fourth – as was the case for Norris, the McLaren driver running in a somewhat lonely P3. It was clear that the picture was far from settled, however, with Leclerc soon chasing after Russell while Hamilton had set the fastest lap on the 12th tour.

The stewards announced that Hulkenberg – running in P13 – would be investigated after the Sprint for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, while Hadjar was busy trying to catch Lawson for eighth place.

A late defensive move from Lawson sparked the ire of the Frenchman, who remained within half a second as the final lap ticked down. It was subsequently confirmed that the Racing Bulls driver will be investigated after the Sprint for moving under braking.

There were no such troubles up at the front for Antonelli, however, who crossed the line to seal victory in the Sprint while Hamilton followed in second, some 2.745s behind the Mercedes. Norris added to McLaren’s tally in third, though the Briton was only 0.856s ahead of Russell at the line.

Leclerc claimed fifth place, while the final points on offer went to Verstappen, Piastri and Lawson. The latter, however, faces that aforementioned stewards’ investigation after the event, where he just finished ahead of Hadjar.

Key quote

"It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis," said Antonelli. "We were both pushing very hard. Once I got into overtake mode, I knew my chance was coming. Out of Turn 4, I got very close alongside into Brooklands, but he used the Boost, so I decided to wait. Then, going into Stowe, I used everything I had and was able to overtake. From that point on, I just got into my rhythm, tried to stay out of his overtake range, and bring the car home."

What's next

Following the Sprint, the drivers will return to action during Qualifying for the British Grand Prix later on Saturday at 1600 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how you can follow the action.