Ferrari's Charles Leclerc won his first Formula One race of the season at the British Grand Prix on Sunday after championship leader Kimi Antonelli suffered a wheel shield problem when hunting the Monegasque down.
Mercedes teenager Antonelli started on pole but was passed almost immediately off the line by Leclerc and his fellow Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
He soon got back past Hamilton but went over a curb when chasing Leclerc, knocking the wheel shield up and affecting his driving. The Italian pitted to try to fix the problem but eventually finished 16th.
Leclerc last won in the US in 2024 and has nine F1 career victories in total.
"It feels incredible," Leclerc said: "I am so, so happy. I really hope I can keep this momentum going forwards. With Kimi it would have been close, he was very fast when he was coming towards me and it would have been hard to keep him behind."
Mercedes teenager Antonelli started on pole but was passed almost immediately off the line by Leclerc and his fellow Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
He soon got back past Hamilton but went over a curb when chasing Leclerc, knocking the wheel shield up and affecting his driving. The Italian pitted to try to fix the problem but eventually finished 16th.
Leclerc last won in the US in 2024 and has nine F1 career victories in total.
"It feels incredible," Leclerc said: "I am so, so happy. I really hope I can keep this momentum going forwards. With Kimi it would have been close, he was very fast when he was coming towards me and it would have been hard to keep him behind."
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