Lights out and away we went! Well, both us and the British GP and boy are we back. Kinda felt like it was worth it to come back for Hamilton. So, here’s our 2026 British Grand Prix race highlights.
Leclerc takes the lead and takes a commanding win!
While all eyes were on Hamilton and Antonelli, it was Leclerc who came back in form to take a commanding lead converting it into a superb victory. Leclerc took the lead at the start of the race as Hamilton and Russell took P2 and P3 dropping Antonelli from P1 to P4. As Antonelli then battled a charging Max and an eager to prove Russell, Leclerc increased his advantage to a 4 second gap by the end of Lap 11 as Hamilton is served a 5-second time penalty for jumping the start. If you ask me (and the commentary box), we’d say it was harsh considering he did not gain any advantage but eh! Antonelli got a penalty for exceeding track limits in a car that could not turn and the safety car did not end so… once again we don’t know as much apparently as the stewards now do we?
Leclerc’s lead on Hamilton can also be a rather intelligent Ferrari strategy where Hamilton was playing second fiddle in keeping Kimi behind considering he already had a 5-second time penalty to serve. On the penalty, this is what DC (David Coulthard) had to say:
“I’m going to start drafting a letter to my local MP. I’m not sure if that [Hamilton penalty] is entirely fair. For me, a jump start is about proximity. You have a proximity sensor, so you’re not allowed to be rolling. But he wasn’t beyond his grid box.”
By lap 15, Leclerc was once again gaining on Kimi who was around 5 seconds behind which was incredible considering Mercedes pace compared to Ferrari was huge. This was even more evident with the Lap 10 overtake by Kimi in the Sprint race looking like Kimi was overtaking a mid-fielder than an seven time world champion.
Pit stops and a virtual safety car as Hulkenberg retires
Once again the British GP started showing why it has the highest watch time and attendance of all races. As Hamilton raced past the Hamilton straight with a record top speed and a record 564k fans in attendance over the weekend, it was Hulkenberg who retired at Lap 39 bringing in a VSC and starting a stream of cheap pit stops. None of the top runners from Mercedes and Ferrari are pitting. Antonelli effectively brought down a 77s gap to less than 5 seconds behind Leclerc having a comfortable gap to Hamilton in 3rd. Kimi was told to keep out for a very long time which we anticipated was for softs but they put in hard tyres to effectively tell Kimi to give qualy laps only in this race now on. It’s game on!
Kimi’s Mercedes has issues as Max crashes bringing in a full safety car
It was a heartbreaking set of radio messages at Kimi’s pit wall as he complains about an issue with turning the car in terms of mechanical failure. He goes in for a long pit where they swap his front wing but the issue continues. They identify it to be a broken wheel shield and call him in the pits again as he gets out in P10 to fight for a single point. Kudos to Kimi!
Although, the issue with the car meant that Kimi exceeded track limits and was handed a 5-second time penalty which is an obnoxious use of the word penalty considering it must be given for gaining an advantage and not when its an absolute necessity resulting in no advantage. A frustrated Kimi ever so kindly speaks the same words. Disheartening!
One set of events to another, Max crashes at lap 48 bringing in a full safety car. Max was not feeling too well with the car as he stated in Lap 5 “The downshifts are so ****.” Ending the race with the crash, Max furiously throws the steering wheel in anguish fed up with the bugs affecting his RB22. This race is bringing in some more unexpected turns. Leclerc pits for fresh rubber as does Hamilton. Russell stays out to gain track position. A rather interesting approach from Ferrari. While it was understandable to pit Leclerc considering it was a free pit-stop, Hamilton could’ve held the track position since it would most likely be a 1 lap race. But, I guess Hamilton has flashes of Abu Dhabi 2021 and doesn’t want to take the risk. Russell, being the less racy more strategy driver, opts to stay out for track position.
The entire crowd holds their breath as the one lap shootout of LEC-RUS-HAM is about to begin. But wait! Bernd Maylander doesn’t come in the pits! The red Mercedes leads a pack of two scarlet red Ferraris and a Mercedes in between which was quite ironic. Race control decides in favour of finishing the race behind safety car for reasons unknown as of yet. That’s another safety car deciding not to be in Hamilton’s favour. He is once again noted for a yellow flag infringement.
Leclerc had a decisive 20 second lead after Kimi’s issues and gets the well deserved win as Russell and Hamilton complete the podium. Overall, this was a 5 star race (-1 star for not giving us the last lap shootout).
