Antonelli suffers Silverstone debacle and loses championship lead

The decisive damage to the car occurred at Copse corner: a carbon piece of the wheel cover broke off as it went over the curbs, jammed itself in the suspension, and, according to onboard footage, caused Antonelli's steering wheel to sit at an angle. As a result, the car suffered a slow puncture and, in Antonelli's own assessment, the suspension was also affected. "Als ich zum letzten Mal aus der Boxengasse gefahren bin, war das Auto noch einigermaßen fahrbar", he said afterward, but during the race he had been missing "so viel Abtrieb" that even tenth place "dennoch drin gewesen wäre".

Mercedes announces investigation

Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, said that his team's calculations had shown that Antonelli could have attacked Leclerc on fresher tyres six laps from the end. "Das Rennen hätte episch enden können", said Wolff, and announced that the cause of the defect would now be investigated at the Mercedes factory located only a few kilometres from Silverstone. It is the Italian's second technical retirement in three races; according to the team, such defects are "nicht zum ersten Mal in der Saison bei den Silberpfeilen aufgetreten".

Leclerc's first comeback in months

Antonelli himself was clearly struggling with the outcome. "Es ist eine Schande, dass ich nicht einmal die Chance gehabt habe, (Leclerc anzugreifen). Aber es ist, wie es ist", he said. On the way to parc fermé the youngster appeared composed, but afterward he found clear words: "Ich konnte es nicht glauben, weil es immer schlimmer wurde", and summed up: "Der Wagen war unfahrbar." Looking at the overall picture, he said: "Zwei Nuller in drei Rennen sei schwer zu verdauen." The Daily Mail, for its part, wrote of "zehn katastrophalen Runden" experienced by the Wolff protégé.

While Antonelli retired, Charles Leclerc celebrated an emotional victory in the Ferrari. It was his first Grand Prix win since October 2024. "Es ist ein unglaubliches Gefühl", said Leclerc, adding: "Nach den letzten Wochen, die besonders schwierig waren, nun zu gewinnen, macht mich unglaublich glücklich." The win was also Scuderia Ferrari's 250th Grand Prix victory in Formula 1 – and Ferrari's first win at Silverstone in 75 years.

Behind Leclerc, George Russell in the Mercedes partly completed the Silver Arrows' misery: despite a slow puncture he salvaged second place. The podium was completed by Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari in front of his home fans in third. Hamilton now lies 32 points behind Antonelli in the drivers' standings; the Italian himself still leads by 25 points ahead of his team-mate Russell – yet Antonelli lost the championship lead, because his direct pursuers scored points in the Silverstone race.

Verstappen struggles with Red Bull

Additional drama was provided by Max Verstappen: the 28-year-old Dutchman slid into the gravel at Stowe corner, retired in the closing phase, and caused the race to finish behind the safety car. Verstappen struggled with his car afterward and spoke plainly on Dutch television: "Ich bin ja nicht abergläubisch, aber ich komme mir vor, als hätte ich eine schwarze Katze überfahren." His curt conclusion was even clearer: "Ehrlich, ich hasse diesen Wagen."

For Antonelli, after the disappointment, there remains only the focus on what lies ahead. "Ich muss alles rausholen, was ich selbst kontrollieren kann", he said. Formula 1 continues on 19 July in Belgium and on 26 July in Hungary. Whether Mercedes gets its reliability problems under control by then will be decisive for whether Antonelli can reclaim his championship lead in the coming races.