Charles Leclerc wins British Grand Prix as Max Verstappen crash causes late Silverstone chaos

Charles Leclerc has won Sunday's British Grand Prix amid chaos during the final laps which saw the race end behind the safety car.

Heading into the closing stages of the race, Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was favourite to close down Leclerc, who had been in front for the majority of the Grand Prix at Silverstone.

However, an issue relating to the Italian's front-left wheel on his Mercedes led to him dropping down the field, leaving Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari one-two.

That advantage was wiped out when Max Verstappen spun out with five laps remaining, resulting in a safety car being deployed.

Here's what happened to Max ?#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/X1BMh6spR9

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2026

Leclerc and Hamilton chose to pit for fresh tyres, with George Russell staying out in his Mercedes which was close enough to Hamilton to move into second.

Although it initially appeared that a last-lap shootout would ensue which would heavily favour Hamilton, the safety car stayed out to the surprise and disappointment of everyone barring Leclerc.

Therefore, Leclerc was left to celebrate his first Grand Prix victory since 2024, with Hamilton left to rue his last pit stop as he saw Russell somehow earn second in a race where he had earlier had to pit for a slow puncture.

Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad and Gabriel Bortoleto finished ahead of the ninth-placed Antonelli.

Instead, the 19-year-old will drop out of the points because of a harsh five-second penalty for breaching track limits at a slower speed when dealing with issues with his car.

As a result, Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly make up the top 10.

How does F1 Championship look after British Grand Prix?

The Formula 1 Championship is well and truly alive again with Russell now within 25 points of leader Antonelli.

Hamilton is also now within 32 points, while Leclerc has reduced the deficit to Antonelli to 71 points with a race win.

Norris and Oscar Piastri - who finished outside the top 10 at Silverstone - are fifth and sixth respectively, but defending champion Norris is 82 points behind Antonelli.