Clive Rose/Getty Images Another Ferrari drought in Formula 1 has ended just three weeks after Lewis Hamilton took his maiden victory in Rosso Corsa. Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix on Sunday, partly due to SF-26's genuine on-track pace and misfortune in the rest of the field. Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was bearing down on the Ferrari during the race's closing laps, but his charge was completely derailed by a front-left wheel shield failure. Compounding his mechanical failure in Barcelona, the teenage Italian's points lead is melting in front of his eyes through no fault of his own. Sunday's race seemed like Antonelli's to lose. Saturday, he won the sprint race and became the first Italian to qualify on pole at Silverstone since Alberto Ascari in 1953. However, his struggles with race starts reappeared. The Mercedes launched well out of the grid box, but had a poor second phase. Both Ferraris got around Antonelli as they turned into Abbey, the first corner. Maranello's chances at a 1-2 finish would be short-lived as race officials would later give Hamilton a five-second penalty for a false start. Poor build quality cost Antonelli a chance at the win Mark Thompson/Getty Images The decisive moment of the Grand Prix would come on Lap 41 of 52. Antonelli began missing corner apexes, and he told the Mercedes pit wall that his car couldn't turn in anymore. The wheel shield inside his front-left tire folded in on itself, jamming the suspension arms. The team believed the part failed as the championship leader drove over the Turn 9 exit curb. Antonelli pitted, but the damage couldn't be fully repaired. Despite being out of contention for the win, the Italian refused to quit and hoped to savage some points. He finished 15th. After the race, team principal Toto Wolff said to Sky Sports F1, "But, you know, it's on us. A car should not break and I don't think the ride was worse than any laps before. He couldn't turn it anymore." The issue that ended Antonelli's chances 😖 A broken wheel shield 👀#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/is08EJRV7B — Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026 Before the failure, Antonelli was rapidly closing the gap to Leclerc with a big tire offset. A Mercedes win at the centennial anniversary British Grand Prix wasn't guaranteed. The safety car was deployed on Lap 46 after Max Verstappen crashed out of the race after suffering a rear wing failure. The Red Bull's macarena wing failed to completely close like in Verstappen's crash last week's qualifying session in Austria. Here's what happened to Max 👇#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/X1BMh6spR9 — Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026 The race was never restarted despite race control stating that the safety car would be withdrawn before the final lap. According to ESPN, the FIA claims the message was caused by a software glitch. The race couldn't be restarted because the safety car legally can't be withdrawn on the same lap that the field's lapped cars unlap themselves. The message was rescinded eight seconds later, ending the race under caution with Leclerc as the uncontested winner. With his second-place finish, George Russell is only 25 points behind his teammate Antonelli. One last historic milestone for the weekend: Leclerc's win was Ferrari's 250th victory in Formula 1.
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