Kimi Antonelli denied Lewis Hamilton a home victory at Silverstone on Saturday, passing the Ferrari driver to win the British Grand Prix sprint race and extend his championship lead to 43 points over teammate George Russell.
According to BBC Sport, the 19-year-old Italian bided his time while a frantic battle unfolded behind him in the opening laps. McLaren's Lando Norris, Russell, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen were swapping places aggressively, but Antonelli stayed patient and focused on the leader.
Hamilton had held the front position and defended hard. But Antonelli made one attempt at Brooklands corner at the end of the Wellington Straight and was rebuffed. He then saved his battery charge and blasted past Hamilton on the Hangar Straight on lap eight.
"It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis," Antonelli said. "We were both pushing very hard. When I got into overtake (mode), I knew my chance was coming. I got a good run out of (Turn) Four. He went a bit wide and I think he used boost to defend and I just waited and then used it out of (Turn) 13, everything I had, and made the move."
Hamilton, racing for Ferrari in front of his home crowd, could not hold off the younger driver once Antonelli committed to the move. The headwind down the back straight played a role as well.
"Tough race to keep the Mercedes behind, as I said it might be. And with it being so windy today, big headwind down the back straight, he came flying past. I didn't have anything left," Hamilton said. "I was pushing as hard as I could to keep the gap to more than one second, but in my tow he was just closing, and once he got the overtake mode, I couldn't get rid of him. He came flying past on the straight to Stowe."
Hamilton did note some positive signs for Ferrari despite the loss. He said the team had been talking about a 0.6 to 0.7 second deficit on the straights compared to Mercedes, and that the gap had been smaller the day before. He said it was less in qualifying but increased during the race with deployment.
Behind the top two, Norris drove a strong race from sixth on the grid to finish third. He briefly passed Antonelli for second before the Italian retook the spot. Norris, Russell, and Verstappen then spent several laps in a tight battle for the remaining podium positions before Norris pulled clear.
"It was a very good race," Norris said. "I'm very, very happy, good start, good first lap, not the pace to go with these guys but had a good battle with George. Pleasantly surprised. I was fighting the car everywhere to be honest. It wasn't a straightforward race and I knew George would be catching, like he was towards the end of the race. We're not on a similar level to these guys (Mercedes and Ferrari) on car performance."
Russell finished fourth after starting fifth. Verstappen, the reigning world champion, rounded out the top group after his early scrap with Norris and Russell.
The full British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone with Antonelli now holding a 43-point advantage in the championship standings.
