British Grand Prix and Sprint round-up: Charles Leclerc finally wins at Silverstone, while Kimi Antonelli is also triumphant

Charles Leclerc finally won the British Grand Prix on Sunday, in a race that ended in a controversial manner.

The victory was Leclerc’s first in nearly two years as he led Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton under the safety car.

The race was poised to be a grandstand finish when race control initially said the safety car would be coming in with one lap to go. However, the safety car then stayed out, meaning the order remained the same until the chequered flag.

Hamilton, who was in second when the safety car was first out, suffered the most – losing out a position to Russell as a result.

After the race, a statement from governing body the FIA said ‘the ‘safety car in this lap’ message was displayed erroneously due to a software error’.

Kimi Antonelli looked set for victory, as he was closing in on Leclerc, before a wheel-fairing failure saw him drop down the field – crossing the line in ninth but demoted to 16th following a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits.

While the Italian had issues, so did Max Verstappen as he crashed at Stowe while chasing Hamilton for second place – resulting in the safety car at the end of the race.

The race result means Antonelli’s lead has been reduced to 25 points over Russell, while Hamilton is a further seven points back.

Kimi Antonelli wins British Grand Prix Sprint

On Saturday, Antonelli had emerged victorious after catching and passing home favourite Hamilton.

The Brit fended off the challenge of Antonelli at the start but was eventually passed on the Hangar Straight on lap eight after the teenager chose to preserve his battery.

Defending champion Lando Norris climbed from sixth on the grid to third on the first lap, and briefly got past Antonelli for second before the Italian retook the position.