Behind the Ferrari driver, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton came home in second and third respectively. For Leclerc, it marks his first win of the season, while for Scuderia Ferrari it is victory number 250.
The initial strategy planned by most teams was a one-stop, but two neutralisations in the closing stages forced all drivers to make at least two pit stops. The entire grid started on C2 before switching to the Hard compound.
Most of the front-runners opted to fit the Soft for the final stint. Russell, however, had already switched from Hard to Medium during his second stop and therefore chose to prioritise track position, bringing the race to a close on the yellow-marked tyre.
As the race ended behind the Safety Car, the drivers who had chosen the C3 were unable to fully exploit its performance potential.
Kimi Antonelli completed the highest number of laps on the Medium, covering 35 laps on the C2, while Oscar Piastri recorded the longest stint on the Hard with 34 laps. The greatest number of laps on the Soft, 12, was completed by Alexander Albon.
Despite finishing outside the points, Antonelli retains the lead in the Drivers’ Championship with 179 points. The Italian is ahead of his team-mate, now on 154, while Lewis Hamilton occupies third place with 147 points.
DARIO MARRAFUSCHI – PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR
All teams converged today on a single strategy, the same one our simulations had identified as the quickest. Up until the first Virtual Safety Car, therefore, the Grand Prix did not show significant variation from this perspective, aside from the timing of the switch from Medium to Hard.
The early pit stops by some drivers were also influenced by the level of tyre degradation, which in the opening phase of the race proved higher than observed in previous days, partly due to the higher temperatures recorded on Sunday.
With the first neutralisation, some attempted to take advantage of increased grip by fitting a new set of C2. However, it was the final Safety Car that not only introduced the widespread use of the softest compound, the C3, but also determined the order of the podium finishers.
George Russell was able to secure second place having already made his second pit stop due to debris, while the two Ferrari drivers stopped to fit Soft tyres, anticipating a restart that ultimately did not take place.
Pirelli’s commitment at Silverstone does not end today. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will return to the track, with the support of Mercedes and Williams, for two further days of development testing aimed at defining the construction of next season’s slick tyres.
