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Silverstone, England: Charles Leclerc took his first Formula 1 victory in almost two years as a chaotic British Grand Prix ended behind a safety car on Sunday, with standings leader Kimi Antonelli again missing out on points due to a damaged car.
Leclerc overtook Antonelli at the start and the Mercedes driver dropped to third, but the Italian was chasing Leclerc in the closing laps when he reported a steering problem. Leclerc took victory under the safety car after a spectacular turn in the gravel by Max Verstappen, who finished third.
“Finally!” Leclerc spoke on the radio after the victory.
“I found this film particularly enjoyable, even if I wished it had a more normal ending.”
Leclerc jumped out of the car and ran towards a crowd of Ferrari employees who rushed forward to embrace him, bringing the barrier down on top of their driver. Leclerc’s last Formula 1 victory was at the United States Grand Prix in October 2024.
Race winner Charles Leclerc from Monaco and Brian Bozzi, race engineer for Scuderia Ferrari, celebrate their victory on the podium.Getty Images
After Antonelli reported problems with his car, he pulled into the pits, but this did not help and he began to fall back down the field. Verstappen’s spin later shook up the race again.
Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate and title rival George Russell was second, denying Ferrari a one-two finish, remaining on old tires as Lewis Hamilton entered the pits under the safety car.
Hamilton had fresh tires but was unable to use them as the race finished behind the safety car. He crossed the finish line third.
Hamilton also faced a post-race investigation for allegedly breaching yellow flag conditions around the time he gave way to Russell.
Antonelli finished ninth after ignoring the team’s requests to retire the car so he could fight for the final points places. In any case, he ended up outside the points. The Italian dropped to 16th place due to a penalty for running off the track when he drove his damaged car into the corners.
AP
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