British GP result may change as Lewis Hamilton under investigation

F1 LIVE: British GP result may change as Lewis Hamilton under investigation

The British Grand Prix is set to start at 3pm (BST) this afternoon with Kimi Antonelli in pole position and Charles Leclerc completing the front row

Kimi Antonelli will start in pole position for this afternoon's British Grand Prix. The Italian, who won the Sprint Race earlier on Saturday, built on that momentum to claim top spot in qualifying.

He beat competition from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to take his fifth career pole by 0.175s with a final lap of 1:28.111. Antonelli's Mercedes teammate George Russell completes the second row in fourth, while Red Bull's Isack Hadjar is fifth, and Lando Norris, the reigning world champion, is down in sixth.

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And with Russell recording a slower time in comparison to Antonelli, the Brit revealed post-qualifying that Mercedes is investigating why he is losing speed in a straight line.

Elsewhere, Max Verstappen cut a frustrated figure following a difficult Saturday at Silverstone, with the Dutchman emphasising in an interview that Red Bull is still battling persistent issues.

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Ahead of the British GP - which gets underway at 3pm (BST) - stay tuned with live updates and reaction from Silverstone below...

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8 mins ago16:53 Kieran King

Hamilton on third place

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is "grateful" to be still up on the podium after finishing third at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton told Sky Sports: "Firstly I have to say congratulations to Charles. Winning this Grand Prix is a great experience and this is a great result for our team. So congratulations to our team.

"I just didn't have it today. I jumped the start, got a five second penalty, but Charles had the pace on me today. I struggled with the balance of the car but I gave it everything and I'm grateful to be up here."

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12 mins ago16:49 Kieran King

Russell reaction

George Russell has said he got "very lucky" that the Safety Car remained in there until the end of the British Grand Prix.

"Firstly, congrats to Charles, he drove a great race," Russell told Sky Sports. "Great race, great to be always in Silverstone, my first podium so really pleased to be standing here.

"It was obviously a very unlucky race then got very lucky at the end with the Safety Car. It would have been great for the fans for it to have restarted but from my side my tyres were stone cold so I was glad to bring it home in second.

"Tough weekend but, overall, good to be standing here."

16 mins ago16:45 Kieran King

More from Leclerc

Charles Leclerc is ecstatic after winning the British Grand Prix and is "incredibly happy" about getting his first race victory since Austin in 2024.

"It feels incredible," Leclerc told Sky Sports. "Unfortunately the end was maybe not the one I would have dreamt of.

"To win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult. All the work we put in to try to get the feeling back in the car, felt like I found something yesterday after the Sprint. But I had to confirm it today.

"Today the feeling was back where it needs to be. I'm so incredibly happy."

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23 mins ago16:38 Kieran King

Russell reacts to second

George Russell has reacted to his fortunate second-place finish after Lewis Hamilton pitted and the Safety Car was redeployed for the final lap at the British Grand Prix.

"Well done for sticking in there," Russell said.

"That was a very frustrating weekend otherwise."

Toto Wolff added: "Yeah, George, I think straight-line was ok in the race."

29 mins ago16:32 Kieran King

Leclerc WINS

Charles Leclerc has WON the British Grand Prix. It's phenominal from the Ferrari who has won his first race since Austin in 2024.

George Russell comes in as second with Lewis Hamilton completing the podium down in third place.

Leclerc told the team radio: "Let's go! Let's go!

"Wooh, hoo, hoo. Finally. This one feels particularly good even though I wish a more normal ending.

"Hard work pays off."

30 mins ago16:31 Daniel Moxon

The safety car has stayed out...

Groans of exasperation and bewilderment aplenty in the media centre here as the safety car is told to come in, but doesn't and this race ends under yellow flags!

There's no explanation at the moment as to why the sudden change of heart. All we were told here on the information screens was 'Safety Car in this lap', quickly followed by, 'Safety Car deployed'.

34 mins ago16:27 Kieran King

Top five - 50th lap

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. George Russell (Mercedes)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

4. Lando Norris (McLaren)

5. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)

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35 mins ago16:26 Kieran King

Antonelli fumes at penalty

Kimi Antonelli has been handed a five-second penalty after breaching track limits and he is far from pleased.

Antonelli told his team radio: "That's a joke! I didn't do it on purpose. The car was broken, I wasn't even gaining time!"

38 mins ago16:23 Kieran King

Verstappen OUT

Max Verstappen is OUT of the British GP.

The Red Bull is in the gravel at Stowe in front of the Landostand.

He appears to have beached his Red Bull and the Safety Car is out! Huge drama here...

40 mins ago16:21 Kieran King

Antonelli not giving up

Kimi Antonelli still isn't giving up despite fast being caught by Franco Colapinto for 10th.

He told the team radio: "I'll stay out, I'll try to get the point."

The Italian keeps bringing up track limits breaches, though, amid his steering issues.

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45 mins ago16:16 Kieran King

Antonelli back into the pits

Kimi Antonelli has pitted for a second as Mercedes remove the piece of damage from the front left wheel shield and he comes back out in 10th.

Antonelli told the team radio: "It's something fundamental. The car doesn't turn.

"I can try to get the points at least one more!"

47 mins ago16:14 Kieran King

Huge Antonelli issue

Kimi Antonelli has a huge problem.

The championship leader is struggling and has headed into the pits. He makes it, takes on some new medium tyres, but he is now running in fifth place.

Ferrari are one-two, with Charles Leclerc first and Lewis Hamilton second.

51 mins ago16:10 Kieran King

Another Virtual Safety Car

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg has come to a stop on the inside of Copse.

It is in a relatively safe place, so there is no need for a full Safety Car.

58 mins ago16:03 Kieran King

Russell overtakes Verstappen then pits

George Russell went down the inside of Max Verstappen into Stowe before pitting due to his slow tyre puncture.

That is what Verstappen almost did to Russell earlier and Hamilton is now on the Dutchman's tail.

Meanwhile, Russell is down to seventh on new, fresh tyres.

1 hour ago15:56 Kieran King

Mercedes plan

Kimi Antonelli is poised to come in for a pit and would still return in second place ahead of Max Verstappen.

Sky Sports' David Croft said: "What the Mercedes strategists are looking at is there is a 28-second gap back to Max Verstappen, so don't worry about staying out longer.

"We'll keep going as long as we can and then give you a big tyre advantage over Leclerc for the final laps."

1 hour ago15:52 Kieran King

Russell and Hamilton battle

Brave racing from George Russell and Lewis Hamilton!

Hamilton went round the outside of Russell and overtook him into fourth on Maggotts corner.

Then Russell got Hamilton back down the Hanger Straight to re-claim fourth position.

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1 hour ago15:46 Kieran King

Hamilton fastest lap

Lewis Hamilton is flying in these new tyres after pitting and gets within one second of George Russell in the battle for fourth.

Both drivers are closing on Max Verstappen who is another four seconds ahead in third, with Lando Norris expected to pit soon.

1 hour ago15:39 Kieran King

Virtual Safety Car

There is a very brief Virtual Safety Car for an umbrella on the track.

None of the top 10 were able to pit during the VSC and we are already back to green.

1 hour ago15:33 Daniel Moxon

Where's the pace, George?

As my colleague Kieran said just now, Russell is lapping slower than Lewis Hamilton ahead and has just been overtaken by Max Verstappen in a Red Bull which has engine and gearbox problems.

Verstappen has just pitted so Russell is back up to fourth for now, but the alarm bells must be ringing here because the pace just isn't there. Antonelli is dropping Hamilton while Russell, in the other Mercedes, can't get close.

He's been beaten all ends up by his teenage team-mate over the whole of this weekend. He needs to show more than this if a title comeback is to happen.

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1 hour ago15:32 Kieran King

Verstappen into fourth

Max Verstappen has overtaken George Russell into fourth and it was some aggressive driving from the Red Bull man.

He went on the outside to overtake Russell before undercutting him on the defence and then going into the pit.

2 hours ago15:30 Kieran King

Hamilton faster than Russell

Although he has dropped down to third, Lewis Hamilton is still faster than fourth-place George Russell and is 3.4s ahead going into the 16th lap.

Hamilton is lapping much quicker compared to Russell and has the chance to extend that before time for a pit.

2 hours ago15:29 Daniel Moxon

Hamilton's silver lining

It's looking tough from here to see how Lewis Hamilton can win this race, given the five-second time penalty he's carrying.

The silver lining for Ferrari, though, is that he held off Kimi Antonelli for long enough to give Charles Leclerc the chance to build a four-and-a-half-second lead.

And he has the pace to maintain that gap to the Mercedes for now. Hamilton probably isn't going to win this, but Ferrari look like they definitely can.

2 hours ago15:26 Kieran King

Top five after 13 laps

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

2. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

4. George Russell (Mercedes)

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2 hours ago15:25 Kieran King

Antonelli up above Hamilton

It's going from bad to worse for Lewis Hamilton who has dropped down to third after Kimi Antonelli went above him.

Hamilton is complaining that his tyres are graining and that is why he has dropped back behind Antonelli.

2 hours ago15:19 Kieran King

Hamilton punished for false start

Lewis Hamilton has been handed a five-point penalty for moving before the start signal.

Replays showed that Hamilton moved before the lights went out and has therefore been punished.

"He anticipated it but when the lights went out, he wasn't moving," Martin Brundle told Sky Sports.

"He dropped the clutch in anticipation and the car moved. That's a brutal penalty because the car was not moving, but they are the rules."

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2 hours ago15:15 Kieran King

10-second penalty for Alex Albon

Alex Albon has received a 10-second penalty for contact with Oliver Bearman on the first lap.

The Williams driver is already running last, so it should not change much for his race...

2 hours ago15:13 Kieran King

More on Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli dropped from first to third before the first corner and he appeared to be pick up serious wheelspin off the line.

Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have jumped up above him into first and second.

Sky Sports' Anthony Davidson said: "Antonelli picked up so much wheelspin off the line. His engineer is telling him now to focus and find that rhythm.

"I get the feeling the fastest car is in third. What can Ferrari do to work as a team?"

2 hours ago15:11 Kieran King

Sainz into the points

Carlos Sainz in the Williams has made an impressive start and is already up into the points places.

The Spaniard qualified down in 15th but has made up five spots inside the opening four laps and is up to 10th.

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2 hours ago15:09 Kieran King

Nightmare start for Piastri

Oscar Piastri has made a nightmare start to the British GP and has dropped from eighth and down to 21st after suffering wing damage.

The Aussie has been forced to head into the pit and will no doubt have an uphill battle from here on.

2 hours ago15:06 Kieran King

Leclerc in the lead

What a start that was from Charles Leclerc, who has leapfrogged Kimi Antonelli into first place out of the first corner.

Lewis Hamilton has also overtaken Antonelli with the Mercedes driver dropping from the lead down to third.

2 hours ago14:59 Kieran King

Here we go

The drivers are out on the grid and the 2026 British Grand Prix is about to get underway.

Kimi Antonelli the outright favourite to win the Silverstone race, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell follow with the bookmakers.

It's anticipated to be an epic race but who is going to come out on top?

2 hours ago14:48 Joe Doyle

Christian Horner: 'Never say never...'

The former Red Bull chief was on the grid, and admits a 2027 F1 return is possible...

"Yeah, look I'm just here as a fan today. It's the British Grand Prix, so good to come and have a look.

"I've had some nice time out and spent time with family. It's good to have a good bit of extra time.

Will you be back on the grid for 2027?

"Never say never..."

2 hours ago14:46 Joe Doyle

Sir Chris Hoy

Sir Chris Hoy is on the grid following his appearance in the Royal Box at Wimbledon yesterday. And he's the guest of one of the drivers...

"Carlos Sainz messaged me out of the blue and said 'hey, I watched your documentary about you and Sarra and we'd love to host you'," the former Olympian told Sky F1."So a massive thanks to Carlos, we saw him earlier, and we'll be cheering him on today."

2 hours ago14:36 Joe Doyle

Brundle's gridwalk

Martin Brundle steps up to Liam Lawson on his infamous gridwalk and casually begins a conversation about the pre-race lego spectacular. "How's the track? Any lego debris flying around?"

"There honestly definitely could be lego around the track! There was a bit of contact! Hopefully we don't get any punctures."

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3 hours ago14:20 Kieran King

Brundle on Verstappen's future

Martin Brundle has predicted that Max Verstappen will leave Red Bull if the right option comes up.

Verstappen, who has made a slow start to the F1 season, has been linked with replacing Oscar Piastri at McLaren across the last couple of weeks.

Brundle told Sky Sports F1: "I think if he could go, he will go at some point, whether it’s 2027 or 2028, and do something fresh for him.

"We see drivers do that. We saw Lewis Hamilton do that, for example, and get a reset and a new challenge after a very long time in a team.

"He put some faith in the new Red Bull power unit, and it’s proved to be a very good decision.

"The problem Max has got is that there are only three teams he can look at – Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes – and they all seem very, very locked in to their current driver line-ups for at least 2027, and quite often, way beyond."

3 hours ago14:01 Daniel Moxon

Herbert backs Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton was downbeat about his chances of victory after qualifying yesterday, but Johnny Herbert still thinks the seven-time world champion can get Silverstone win No.10 today.

He told Vision4Sport, who offer Formula 1 Hospitality Packages: "Lewis Hamilton loves Silverstone, and he'll be fired up because he knows that the Ferrari, when it's in its little window, he can do miracles with it, and he can be fast enough to be able to go for that pole position and then hopefully for the race.

"The race is probably where Ferrari are probably at their weakest; qualifying is their strength. But Silverstone is a race that he goes well at. He did well last year and was competitive with the Ferrari.

The track suits him. He'll be very motivated because of the support that he gets as well. He also knows that the car can be quick enough to be able to do it. And because he's got all those positive ingredients, he will be very motivated for that."

3 hours ago13:56 Daniel Moxon

Jeremy Clarkson is here

Nice to see Jeremy in the paddock, and looking well just a couple of weeks after confirmed he is in remission from prostate cancer.

He's always loved his motorsport and has been a regular visitor to the British Grand Prix over the last few years.

He's also been feeding and watering the Alpine team and their guests this weekend, providing produce from Diddly Squat Farm which is not too far from here.

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3 hours ago13:42 Daniel Moxon

Express Sport captures the winning (LEGO) moment

I headed down trackside for that LEGO drivers' parade, and it did not disappoint!

The crowd loved it. There were huge cheers when they got going and every time there was an incident. And there were plenty of those! Like when several karts got stuck in the gravel as cheeky drivers tried cutting corners.

In the end it was Fernando Alonso who narrowly crossed the line first. I was stood on the finish line ready to snap the photo that serves as conclusive evidence of his win! And I couldn't help but laugh at seeing him leaning forward and taking it so seriously... They'll race anything, this lot.

4 hours ago13:17 Kieran King

Sainz on Norris

Carlos Sainz decided to get on Lando Norris' car during the LEGO race in an iconic moment on the Silverstone circuit.

Sainz and Norris - who were teammates in 2019 and 2020 - shared a moment together as the car, made up of LEGO bricks, made its way around the 6km track.

4 hours ago13:06 Kieran King

Perez in Mexico shirt

Sergio Perez is repping his Mexico football shirt ahead of the British Grand Prix, as his beloved home nation prepare to face England at the World Cup tonight.

Perez, who was born in Guadalajara, is set to start in 20th on the grid for Cadillac with the British GP starting at 3pm - 10 hours before Mexico's clash with England.

4 hours ago12:32 Daniel Moxon

Horner back in the paddock

Christian Horner has made his first return to the Formula 1 paddock since his Red Bull exit a year ago.

There was a huge crowd of photographers, as well as a fair few autograph-seekers, waiting by the electronic gates to the paddock as Horner came through.

It'll be interesting to see whether or not he is welcome in the Red Bull motorhome...

5 hours ago12:26 Daniel Moxon

Tsolov wins again in Formula 2

What a season this is turning out to be for Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov. He's just capped a perfect weekend at Silverstone with a feature race win, 24 hours on from his Sprint victory.

It's already his sixth win of the season, cementing his place at the top of the Formula 2 standings.

No wonder there has been so much talk about his future of late, though my understanding is that talk over a promotion to Formula 1 for the 2027 season is somewhat premature.

5 hours ago12:02 Daniel Moxon

Verstappen request denied

After a pretty dismal qualifying on Saturday, Max Verstappen said he was struggling with an engine problem and said he would rather start from the pit lane with a new power unit than race with his ailing current one.

But it's understood Red Bull have decided against that course of action and will stick to the current engine onboard his car.

So unless they've found a way to get rid of the gremlins, or at least mitigate them, it looks like it could be a very long afternoon indeed for the Dutchman.

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6 hours ago11:03 Daniel Moxon

A British winner!

We may struggle to get a Brit on the top of the podium in Formula 1 later, given Kimi Antonelli is on pole and showed in yesterday's Sprint that he has pace to burn in his Mercedes.

But we do at least have one British winner already today, with Alisha Palmowski coming out on top in F1 Academy just now!

Driving for Red Bull Racing, she got the jump on pole-sitter and wildcard driver Chiara Battig of Switzerland, who only turned 16 in March, and held off the charging teenager to win the honour of holding the Union Flag aloft on the Silverstone podium.

Well done, Alisha!

6 hours ago10:40 Kieran King

Hadjar decision made

The FIA decided against imposing a penalty on Red Bull's Isack Hadjar after he exceeded the maximum delta time between the Safety Car lines during qualifying.

Following a review of the incident, the stewards chose not to impose a penalty, accepting that Hadjar had exceeded the limit only because he was making room for other cars.

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7 hours ago10:29 Kieran King

Verstappen on Red Bull problems

Max Verstappen has claimed that Red Bull are dealing with persistent problems to his car after a disappointing Saturday for him at the British Grand Prix.

Verstappen is set to start down in seventh on the grid after a frustrating Qualifying and a sixth-place finish in the Sprint.

"Everything is just too slow," Verstappen said post-Q3. "We have a few too many vague things happening."

While Verstappen wants Red Bull to make several improvements to his car, he is aware of the cost cap that must be taken into account as the season dwindles on.

"Of course you have the cost cap," Verstappen added. "Then you can’t put a lot of updates on the car. As I said, we have to take the races step by step."

7 hours ago10:19 Daniel Moxon

Weather a little dull

We're a little under five hours out from the British Grand Prix (and three away from the LEGO drivers' parade).

The weather radars continue to say there will be no rain, though as the F1 Academy race got under way not long ago, the clouds did look a little ominous.

While rain still isn't expected, I'm not brave enough to completely rule it out based on what I can see from the pit building.

7 hours ago10:09 Charlie Malam

Mercedes investigation

George Russell has revealed that Mercedes are investigating why he is losing speed in a straight line compared to teammate Kimi Antonelli at the British Grand Prix.

"There was no damage, but all weekend we’ve been losing lots of time in the straights," he said. "Yesterday in Q3, it was almost three tenths I lost in the straights.

"Again today in qualifying, you look at the speed traps, it’s 3k down middle sector, 6k down in the last sector compared to my teammate and compared to the McLaren cars. The team are working super hard to understand why that is.

"We thought we found the problem this morning and we thought the brakes were locking on, but we’re not convinced that’s the issue, but it just compounds everything, when going into the session knowing you’re at a bit of a disadvantage."

7 hours ago09:59 Kieran King

Good morning

Hello and welcome to our live Formula 1 blog on this fine Sunday morning ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Keep up-to-date with live updates from the race here...

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