The Silverstone circuit hosted the first ever Formula 1 race back in 1950, and since then, it has given us its fair share of dramatic races. The 2026 British Grand Prix was no different. Being the home race of five drivers on the grid, the entire weekend provided catharsis, excitement, and no shortage of drama.
Featuring a crash that made Max Verstappen go back from a podium to the garage, car problems that ended in zero points for the polesitter Kimi Antonelli and Leclerc back on the podium, let us unpack all the things that happened at the British GP 2026!
Leclerc on the top for the first time the historic circuit
Starting the race from second, Charles Leclerc wasted no time in overtaking the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli when the 19-year-old had a difficult start. The Monegasque driver grabbed the lead of the British GP 2026 right at the start of the race at lap one and led almost the entire time. His chances of winning improved further, first when Antonelli was faced with car damage, and then later when Verstappen crashed out of the race, making the weekend end under a safety car.
The win was doubly significant as it was a ninth career victory for Leclerc, and a landmark 250th Grand Prix win for Ferrari.
“I felt like I had found something yesterday… And today, the feeling was back where it needs to be. I’m so incredibly happy.”
Charles Leclerc
Finishing right behind him, was George Russell, who stood at the podium for the very first time at his home race. It was an impressive result after starting from P4, but the British driver still expressed concerns about his ability to fight for a championship.
“I think it was better today but the performance wasn’t good enough and if I’m being brutally honest, I’m not going to fight for a championship if the performances continue like that.”
George Russell
After him, at the last step of the podium at the British GP 2026 was taken by Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion, increasing the number of Brits on the podium up to two. He managed to get this positive result despite facing some difficulties. During the race, he was given a five second time penalty for a false start, and even after the race, he had to face the stewards for a post-race investigation for a yellow flag infringement. Luckily for Hamilton, he only received a reprimand and was allowed to keep his podium.
Antonelli and Verstappen’s Silverstone nightmare
Both Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli experienced bad luck at the Silverstone circuit. It was already a difficult weekend for Verstappen when he was outqualified by his younger teammate. But the Dutch driver managed to drive his Red Bull up from P7, all the way to P3. But that achievement was short-lived after he spun off track and collided with a wall during lap 46 out of 52. In a post-race interview, Verstappen explained the reason for his spin, describing the issue as recurring. Even his teammate, Isack Hadjar was only able to finish in the same position as he started in at P5.
“When the rear wing doesn’t close fully, you lose a lot of downforce and you spin off the track… One time, okay, but two times… this is becoming dangerous for myself.”
Max Verstappen
The Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was enjoying a positive the weekend before the race. He won the sprint race on Saturday after overtaking Hamilton, and qualified to start from the very top of the grid on Sunday. The Italian was expected to be a top contender for the win at Silverstone.
Want to know more? Read about the sprint race and the qualifying session of the British GP 2026.
But that changed when he experienced a bad race start and was overtaken by both Ferraris on the opening lap. Although he did take one position back from overtaking Hamilton, the front-left wheel shield of his Mercedes became detached at around lap 41. This resulted in an inability of turning and controlling the car properly, which in turn led to him receiving a five-second time penalty for track limits.
Despite this, the youngster chose to stay out at P10, hoping to earn a single point. But even that point slipped out of his reach when Verstappen crashed into the wall, prompting a safety car during the last laps. This tightened the distance between the grid, resulting in Antonelli dropping from P10 to P15 after the race due to his time penalty. Meaning that the Mercedes driver was without points for the main race of the British GP 2026.
“I was pulling away and I think I would have had the gap that was required but then the Safety Car came and I knew it was over.”
Kimi Antonelli
Nico Hülkenberg became the first retirement of the race when his Audi came to a stop just off-track due to some issue. Just a few laps later, Alex Albon also received a 10-second time penalty due to a crash with Ollie Bearman earlier in the race. The British-born, Thai driver retired his car on lap 43, being the second retirement of the British GP 2026.
A rookie’s milestone and a Champion’s frustration
It was the first ever home race for the only rookie on the 2026 grid, Arvid Lindblad. He finished his first home race at the British GP 2026 in P7, right behind his teammate Liam Lawson. Both the Racing Bulls drivers went up two places from their starting positions. It was also a double point weekend for Alpine at the British GP 2026, as drivers Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly finished in P9 and P10, respectively.
The reigning World Champion, Lando Norris improved from P6 to P4, but still highlighted that McLaren “have a lot to improve.” His teammate Oscar Piastri, who dropped down from P8 to just out of the points at P11, seemed to agree. The Australian driver experienced front wing damage to his car during lap 1 and had to pit in order to fix that issue.
Despite one side of Audi’s garage feeling disappointed with Hülkenberg’s retirement, the other side was happy when Gabriel Bortoleto finished the race in P8, improving three places.
Silverstone signs off after an action-packed weekend
The five hometown heroes this weekend all experienced different scenarios. Russell and Hamilton were up on the podium, while Bearman could only finish in P12 after a difficult start that made him go wide. Overall, it was truly an action-filled weekend with feature races, sprints and more from F1, F2, F3, and F1 Academy.
Apart from that, the gap between Kimi Antonelli and George Russell slimmed down from 40 to just 25 points in the driver’s standings after the British GP 2026. Moreover, this win enabled Charles Leclerc to jump up from sixth to fourth in the standings, overtaking both the McLarens.
Taking a look at the cars, in the post-race interviews both McLaren drivers and Red Bull drivers conveyed the difficulties they were experiencing with their cars. Even Russell was frustrated with the performance of his Mercedes. Following the two-week break, it will be interesting to see what updates the teams bring to Belgium GP 2026.
