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Motorsport

Motorsport.com staff writers

Five quick takeaways from the F1 British GP

Charles Leclerc Kimi Antonelli Max Verstappen George Russell Lewis Hamilton Red Bull Silverstone Racing Bulls LAT Images Alpine

No more excuses for George Russell

There was always a valid excuse for George Russell during Kimi Antonelli’s five-race winning streak earlier in this 2026 F1 campaign: bad luck. The pre-season favourite had a mechanical issue in Shanghai Q3, Antonelli profited from a timely safety car in Suzuka to win, whereas Russell also retired from the lead in Montreal.

It all combined to give Antonelli a 68-point lead over his team-mate heading into Barcelona, but since then the books have been balanced– as they were always going to be. The Italian retired from second in Catalunya, was on provisional pole in Austria but then lost out after misinterpreting the late yellow-flag situation following Max Verstappen’s crash, before also suffering a car issue from second at Silverstone.

Things then got even better for Russell late in the British GP when another Verstappen crash handed him a podium, before jumping up to second as he didn’t pit under the safety car. This leaves a 25-point gap between the Mercedes drivers.

George Russell, Mercedes (Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Now the onus must be on Russell to catch Antonelli through pure performance because the bad luck excuse no longer works. Doubt still remains over if he will though, because Antonelli had the better of him in Barcelona until the retirement, likewise at Silverstone - so the Italian very much holds the pace advantage.

- Ed Hardy

Leclerc responds in the best possible way after Hamilton's Ferrari resurgence

The past few weeks have not been the easiest of Charles Leclerc's Formula 1 career. Following Lewis Hamilton's victory in Barcelona and Leclerc dropping back to eighth after his front-row start in Austria, more and more questions were being asked about his form compared to the seven-time world champion.

Ironically, it was at Silverstone – where Hamilton was dreaming of a 10th home victory – that Leclerc delivered the perfect response. More than anything, it was the way he did it behind the scenes that stood out.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (Photo by: James Sutton / LAT Images via Getty Images)

After Saturday's sprint race, Leclerc revealed: "I found a few things that we will change for this afternoon, which I’m hopeful that it will go into the right direction. How much I don’t know, but if it’s much better this afternoon, then I’m kind of optimistic that we can keep that for the rest of the season."

The changes worked wonders in qualifying, and the same could be said of Sunday's race. Naturally, Kimi Antonelli dropping out of contention played a significant role, but this was still by far the strongest version of Leclerc we have seen all season.

After qualifying, the Monegasque explained that during previous difficult weekends he essentially had two extremes, two options to choose from: follow Hamilton's direction or trust the approach that had worked for him in the past. At Silverstone, he chose the latter – and it paid off massively with his ninth F1 victory.

Leclerc was the first to admit that one swallow does not make a summer, but this was exactly the boost he needed after a string of difficult weekends.

- Ronald Vording

Verstappen’s frustrations grow after crashing, Silverstone exposes a Red Bull weakness

Following Red Bull's major upgrade package in Austria, Saturday at Silverstone served as a reality check, something team principal Laurent Mekies also acknowledged. Max Verstappen even concluded after qualifying that "there is no point racing like this", although Sunday's race pace turned out significantly better than expected.

Red Bull ultimately decided against changing the power unit or breaking parc ferme, and it seemed to be the right call. Verstappen was on course for his third podium finish of the year before his race ended with a crash at Stowe.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing (Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images)

Up until what looked like an unusual moment, the overall picture may not have been as bleak as Verstappen initially feared, but Silverstone nevertheless exposed a weakness in Red Bull's package. The team continues to struggle with its power unit at energy-starved circuits such as Silverstone, where energy management plays an even bigger role than usual.

It underlines that, although Red Bull's internal combustion engine is competitive, the team is still lacking on the electrical side of its power unit. Without ADUO, however, there is little Red Bull can do to address that weakness. It made the British Grand Prix weekend a bigger challenge than Austria, and Verstappen expects more of the same at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.

- Ronald Vording

McLaren is in survival mode

As expected after qualifying, when the wick is turned up, Ferrari and especially Mercedes are a cut above the rest of the competition. That includes McLaren, which showed encouraging signs earlier this year of being able to claw back its deficit to the front of the field.

But when the going gets tough on the most difficult and demanding circuits, like Silverstone, it's much harder for the reigning world champions to keep up appearances. At the British Grand Prix, McLaren's weaknesses were really exposed as the MCL40's relative lack of downforce and efficiency saw Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri unable to keep up as the pair was easily last of the four top teams on pace.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren (Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images)

Given Spa-Francorchamps's similar profile, McLaren's ails likely won't be fixed in the next race, so it is survival mode right now until the next batch of upgrades arrives at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the summer break.

- Fil Cleeren

Racing Bulls has become the clear ‘best of the rest’

The debate is effectively over: Racing Bulls has established itself as Formula 1's standout midfield team, comfortably leading the pack behind the championship's traditional frontrunners.

The Faenza – and Milton Keynes – outfit introduced a major upgrade package in Montreal. Alpine still headed the midfield there and again in Monaco and Barcelona, but since then the momentum has shifted decisively.

That became clear in Austria, where Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad spent virtually the entire weekend inside the top 10, and Silverstone only reinforced that picture. The way the race unfolded ultimately allowed Racing Bulls to leave the British Grand Prix with a major points haul, leaving it just one point behind Alpine in the fight for fifth place in the constructors' championship.

If Racing Bulls maintains this level of performance while Alpine continues to slip back – recently even falling behind Audi on outright pace – a change in positions feels like a matter of when, not if.

- Federico Faturos