Fraser MasefieldKimi Antonelli continued his dominant 2026 Formula One form by winning the British Grand Prix Sprint race from home favourite Lewis Hamilton and defending champion Lando Norris.
Hamilton led the race until the halfway mark before Antonelli made his move on the Hangar Straight, passing the Ferrari to take a lead he would not relinquish.
Later in the afternoon, the Italian continued his momentum, gaining pole position for Sunday’s most historic of all feature races.
A titanic final lap tussle saw Norris hold off compatriot George Russell with Charles Leclerc fifth from Max Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson rounded off the points scoring positions.
Our top three! 🥈🥇🥉#F1Sprint #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/T7BpjkMsQk
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“It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis,” commented Antonelli afterwards. “We were both pushing very hard and yeah, when I broke, when I got into overtake, I knew my chance was coming.
“And then out of four, that lap was very close when I went alongside in Brooklands.
Cool as you like from Kimi 👌#F1Sprint #BritishGP @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/naQLsEA2s2
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026
“He used the boost and I decided to wait and then obviously going to Stowe, I used everything I had and then I was able to overtake.
“From that point on, I just tried to get into my rhythm and, you know, just try to break the overtake.”
When the lights went green it was Hamilton who maintained his lead into the first corner from Antonelli, Norris and Piastri.
But it was a bad start from former winner Verstappen who dropped three places to sixth.
Lights out in #F1Sprint!!
Watch the race start 🎥#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/QowW0B5y18
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026
The home crowd were in for an early treat, Russell getting the jump on compatriot Norris and up to third to make it three Brits in the top four in the 17 lap Sprint.
With energy deployment and recharging shaking things up as never before on the high-speed Silverstone circuit, places chopped and changed with regularity.
Love it or loathe it, the new regulations made for great drama and overtakes aplenty but out at the front, Hamilton and Antonelli were disappearing into the distance.
At the halfway mark it was still Hamilton who led the pack, the Ferrari working better in the middle sector through Copse before Antonelli made ground towards the end of the lap.
It made for a great game of cat and mouse, Antonelli finally getting through on the Hangar Straight as Hamilton used too much battery in defence.
“A big thank you for everyone that’s here,” said Hamilton. “The crowd is amazing here, so. And also this is like the most energy I’ve seen in the pit lane before.
“So, tough, tough race to keep the Mercedes behind.
“They are particularly quick up to turn six, so I had to sometimes use a boost there. But one of the biggest places is as you come out, when you come around Stowe turn 15, you get all the power and then there’s no power.
“That’s where he was catching me massively then getting into the overtake mode. And once he got the overtake mode, then I couldn’t hold him back after that because he has extra deployment through the lap and I couldn’t break that.
“He came flying past. I was pushing as hard as I could. I gave absolutely everything. But well done to Kimi. We have work to do to try and close that gap so we can keep up.”
It all means that Antonelli extends his championship lead by 40 points from Russell going into Sunday’s feature race.
Our top eight at Silverstone 👏👏#F1Sprint #BritishGP @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/ltQ2c9qn1T
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 4, 2026
“Obviously the momentum is there and we’re doing a great job together,” added Antonelli.
“But of course, you know, we can’t let our guard down because Lewis and Ferrari are doing an incredible job.
“And Red Bull, McLaren, they’re coming. And obviously also George is super quick, so we just need to keep raising that bar and keep delivering performances.”
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Craig Scarborough