SILVERSTONE — Kimi Antonelli won the sprint race at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 4, 2026, after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the Hangar Straight on lap eight to secure the lead. This victory extended Antonelli's championship lead to 43 points over George Russell.

Antonelli strategically conserved his battery charge before making the decisive overtake. Hamilton, who had qualified on pole position by 0.011 seconds ahead of Antonelli for the sprint race, finished second. Lando Norris secured third place in the race, followed by George Russell in fourth and Charles Leclerc in fifth.

Max Verstappen finished sixth, with Oscar Piastri in seventh, Liam Lawson in eighth, and Isack Hadjar taking ninth place. Earlier in the day, Hamilton topped the practice session, being 0.213 seconds quicker than Antonelli.

Antonelli described the early part of the race, saying, "It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis. We were both pushing very hard. When I got into overtake (mode), I knew my chance was coming." He elaborated on his move, stating, "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 commented on the difficulty of maintaining his position against Antonelli. "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. He added, "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."

Russell reflected on his performance, saying, "Lap one was great, did two great overtakes in two corners. Then I got a bit left vulnerable on the next straight and got overtaken by the McLaren. So I need to sort of understand how I managed to pull the moves off but then I lost the positions again anyway." He further stated, "P3 is where I probably should have finished. Finished up P4, one point less. Not ideal."