Leclerc wins British Grand Prix as safety-car confusion freezes late drama

Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix for Ferrari, with George Russell second for Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton third for Ferrari. The race ended under the safety car after a mistaken message briefly suggested there would be a final-lap restart.

The FIA later attributed the incorrect “safety car in this lap” display to a software error, leaving the running order unchanged to the flag. That denied the field a racing finish and added a procedural talking point to an already turbulent Silverstone race.

Kimi Antonelli’s afternoon unravelled after a wheel-fairing problem while he was in contention, and a track-limits penalty dropped him from ninth to 16th. Max Verstappen also failed to score after crashing at Stowe while chasing the podium battle.

The result tightened the championship picture, with Antonelli’s advantage over Russell reduced to 25 points and Hamilton a further seven points behind. For Leclerc, it was a major Ferrari win and his first since the 2024 US Grand Prix, but the unusual finish will likely remain a central part of the post-race debate.