Antonelli beats Hamilton to Silverstone sprint win

Kimi Antonelli won the British Grand Prix sprint at Silverstone after passing Lewis Hamilton on lap eight. The Mercedes driver finished ahead of Hamilton, with Lando Norris completing the top three for McLaren.

Antonelli’s decisive move came on the Hangar Straight after he managed his battery deployment and used overtake mode to get by Hamilton’s Ferrari. Hamilton had resisted earlier pressure, but the combination of slipstream, deployment and windy straight-line conditions left him with little answer once Antonelli launched the attack.

Behind the lead fight, Norris made rapid progress from sixth on the grid and settled into third after early battles involving George Russell and Max Verstappen. Russell finished fourth, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson in the points-paying top eight.

The result strengthens Antonelli’s position in the championship, moving him 43 points clear of Russell. With qualifying for the main Grand Prix still to come, Silverstone’s sprint has added another layer to the Mercedes-Ferrari-McLaren-Red Bull performance picture for the weekend.