British GP: Martin Brundle on ‘immense’ Silverstone 2026, Charles Leclerc’s win and a Security Automotive rule he’d change

Silverstone’s British Grand Prix 2026 was an immense occasion, and it may have been really epic with out a regulation which I’ve been complaining about for years.

There have been formally 564,000 occasion spectators, and naturally followers who had been there all weekend had been counted greater than as soon as, however there was a powerful 175,000 current on race day, and every one I met, or noticed, had been cheering and smiling. It was fairly the competition.

Even the climate was nice, which all the time pleases me because it silences my worldwide buddies within the paddock who get pleasure from mocking our inexperienced however usually moist and chilly land.

Being a Dash weekend, it was flat out all the best way for everybody concerned in F1, and completely relentless, however that basically does energise each observe session.

Groups and drivers know {that a} championship will be gained or misplaced by just a few factors, comparable to final yr, and they also all rely even when the Dash solely affords a complete of eight factors.

‘You have to love the make-up of our present F1 grid’

The beginning of the Dash was wild. With simply 17 laps accessible, all of the drivers had been utilizing overtaking enhance and alternatives with relish. I bear in mind the 80’s turbo vehicles when it was so tempting and efficient to make use of the available enhance button on the steering wheel after which worrying in regards to the gas consumption deficit later.

‘Do not use the overtake enhance button’ is a bit like saying ‘do not consider a pink elephant’. You merely should.

As soon as all of the side-by-side motion settled down the drivers needed to stabilise their batteries and electrical deployment for just a few laps and drive with extra management and objective. Out entrance it grew to become a two-horse race between Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari and Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes.

You have to love the make-up of our present F1 grid, {the teenager} who took over the seven-time champ’s Merc seat in wheel-to-wheel fight, 21 years between their ages.

Ultimately Antonelli, who appears so good within the second half of any stint on a set of Pirelli tyres, had Hamilton on the ropes out of the Loop Flip 4, down the Wellington Straight and into Brooklands Flip 6.

Lewis has used some battery to defend, Kimi maturely bided his time and used overtake mode and all of the instruments accessible to cross for the lead down the Hangar Straight. The ensuing breeze previous was so highly effective with a 25mph benefit it was a bit painful to witness. It was Antonelli’s first Dash victory.

Lando Norris would put in a advantageous drive, on a weekend when McLaren had been actually struggling for tempo, for the ultimate Dash podium slot. George Russell was fourth and, intriguingly, Charles Leclerc a distant fifth within the different Ferrari.

Max Verstappen appeared sad along with his automotive’s pace and dealing with just about all weekend however was in a position to extract a time when it mattered. Isack Hadjar usually appeared marginally quicker within the different Pink Bull and certainly would go on to outqualify Max for the primary race.

The Racing Bulls lads, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, are having a good time as fifth-fastest group and bringing house the factors.

Lawson would rating in each races, and Lindblad scored on his British GP debut with a advantageous seventh place in Sunday’s GP. Spectacular all spherical for that group, now only one level behind Alpine within the Constructors’ Championship, who additionally had two drivers, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, within the GP factors in ninth and tenth.

Leclerc’s turnaround and the lesson realized for Antonelli after ‘heartbreak’

Leclerc had some sort of lightbulb second after the Dash by way of automotive set-up and notably driving fashion for these quirky 2026 vehicles. He would qualify his Ferrari on the entrance row of the grid for Sunday’s principal occasion, overwhelmed solely by the irrepressible Antonelli.

An excellent begin for each Ferraris would put Leclerc within the lead adopted by third-place starter Hamilton within the different Prancing Horse as much as second. Antonelli sensibly slotted into third, he had a championship result in shield and sufficient pace and confidence to make amends over the subsequent 52 laps.

Leclerc was driving fantastically out entrance, Hamilton much less glad along with his Ferrari race automotive on full gas tanks and longer runs. Antonelli would as soon as once more finally hunt him down and cross, however the hole to Leclerc out entrance would then solely marginally scale back every lap.

Ferrari pitted Hamilton on lap 23 for brand new arduous compound tyres, and Mercedes pitted Russell on the identical lap. Leclerc would pit from the lead on lap 25, however critically Antonelli may carry first rate pace till Mercedes pitted him a full 10 laps later giving him a really important tyre benefit over Leclerc.

To place that in perspective, Verstappen and Norris would make their second tyre stops simply three laps later. Antonelli was catching Leclerc hand over fist, and it appeared inevitable he would win the race, till he radioed in after which slowed on lap 41 with steering points.

A part of his aero bodywork across the left-front wheel had failed on the serrated kerb on the skin of the high-speed Copse nook.

It was heartbreaking for him, however one other lesson realized as he didn’t give clear sufficient data on his method into the pits about his issues. The group modified the simple and quick components with a brand new nostril and entrance wing, and recent tyres, and despatched him out, however the offending bodywork was nonetheless blocking his steering and he needed to pit once more two laps later.

Kimi persevered and, nonetheless in tenth place with a probably important one level in his pocket, he discovered outstanding tempo once more and carried on.

However along with his points he had been off the observe 5 instances and was given a five-second penalty for ‘observe limits’. That rule wants adjusting, observe restrict penalties are for when drivers achieve a aggressive benefit by chopping corners or operating huge and so in a position to carry extra pace. They shouldn’t be utilized if you’re surviving a mechanical concern or getting out of the best way.

Nonetheless his tempo was such that he would have cycled by the penalty and nonetheless completed forward of the 2 Alpines, till lap 48 when Verstappen’s rear wing did not shut correctly to re-establish full downforce and, for the second time in eight days, albeit apparently for barely totally different causes, spun him off the observe.

He was a good distance into the gravel on the quick Stowe nook, having pushed an incredible race in chasing down Hamilton’s second-placed Ferrari, and a full security automotive was understandably known as.

Ferrari pitted Leclerc and Hamilton to offer them a fairly recent set of soppy compound tyres for the restart…

Russell had cruelly attracted a sluggish puncture after a feisty drive and needed to make an unscheduled cease on lap 34. At that time it felt as soon as once more that if George did not have dangerous luck this season, he’d don’t have any luck in any respect, however that was comparatively short-lived as Mercedes selected to not pit in on the security automotive and he ended up with observe place forward of Hamilton and would end in an astonishing second place given Verstappen was additionally now out of the race.

That is as a result of the race by no means restarted, with among the crowd rightly booing.

The ‘potential fixes’ for Security Automotive guidelines

Given the present vehicles’ huge energy with no regard for needing to have any battery left after the chequered flag, and funky tyres after the security automotive interval and a bunched-up pack, we had been heading for an epic one-lap shoot-out.

It did not occur. Offering it is thought-about secure, which on a dry sunny day with no folks, particles, or stranded vehicles across the observe it understandably was, the Race Director can permit eligible lapped vehicles to cross the main pack and head off at quicker however secure pace.

I consider this was inaugurated to make sure backmarkers did not get entangled and have an effect on the consequence on the entrance of the race, and as a perceived profit from time-to-time drivers had been introduced again into full rivalry later within the race. However the system is assured to unduly delay the security automotive interval, particularly on lengthy circuits like Silverstone and Spa.

I used to have strong conversations with the very sadly departed Charlie Whiting about this, as a result of it is senseless particularly as the foundations state that the security automotive will get well to the pits on the lap following permitting lapped runners by. Abu Dhabi 2021 anyone?

On this event it transpires we had been into lap 51 when the announcement was declared relating to lapped runners, and regardless of an enormous tease that the security automotive would certainly pit on the finish of that lap which turned out to be an error, the race would end at a relative snail’s tempo below security automotive situations.

There are potential fixes. In IndyCar for instance, if it is inside the final 10 laps, as a substitute of a wave-by the lapped vehicles are made to peel off into the pit lane and rejoin in the back of the sector. Or we may merely have the lapped runners merely drop behind the pack.

Or throw a purple flag and have a standing restart in race order, though this takes some time. As a substitute, we prioritise runners who have not been ok, for no matter cause, on the day, as a substitute of the leaders and most significantly the followers.

One caveat is, in true F1 fashion, defining precisely who a lapped runner is given the regulation states that it relies upon in the event that they ‘had been lapped on the time they crossed the Line on the finish of the lap throughout which they crossed the primary security automotive line for the second time after the Security Automotive was deployed’.

This caught Williams and Carlos Sainz out, not least because of the pitlane geography at Silverstone the place you miss out three observe corners, and he was penalised by a lap after the race. We do make it arduous to know.

The ‘new precedent’ in Hamilton’s post-race investigation

Hamilton had a yellow flag infringement hanging over him post-race and he appeared sure he would obtain a penalty, which given the entire remaining pack was lined up behind the security automotive would have taken him out of the factors.

He obtained a reprimand as a substitute as a result of it was clear on evaluation that he was effectively into the transient yellow zone earlier than he may have probably detected it or the yellow flag. Seeing a inexperienced mild panel encourages you to get on with it but in addition tells you that you have should have simply handed a yellow warning, nevertheless transient, and therefore the reprimand.

Apparently, and with a brand new precedent, given Verstappen was making an attempt to re-overtake him, it was recognised that Hamilton was targeted on a type of a number of energy assaults we have now in 2026, and so compromised in seeing the yellow zone or transient yellow mild on his steering wheel.

A rejuvenated and relieved Leclerc gained his first GP since Austin 2024, for Ferrari’s 250th Grand Prix victory on the similar venue as their first win again in 1951.

Russell’s luck recovered him to second place and now simply 25 factors behind championship chief Antonelli, and Hamilton survived a five-second bounce begin penalty and the yellow flag saga for a advantageous third and his sixteenth British GP podium.

Norris would end a stable if unspectacular fourth in entrance of his adoring 16,000 followers seated on the legendary Stowe nook.

And breathe. It is spectacular Spa in just below two weeks.

Formulation 1’s summer season run continues with the Belgian Grand Prix at legendary Spa-Francorchamps on July 17-19, stay on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime