Lewis Hamilton claimed his first victory for Ferrari after a Virtual Safety Car period shifted the balance in his favour.
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Starting on a three-stop strategy, the Ferrari driver used the plan to apply sustained pressure on George Russell, who had led from pole. As Hamilton approached his scheduled third stop, Fernando Alonso stopped on track in his Aston Martin, prompting a VSC. Hamilton pitted during the period and rejoined ahead of Russell on fresher tyres, going on to take his 106th career win and his first for the Scuderia.
Russell had dictated the early stages of the race. After Hamilton made his first stop on lap 12, Russell predicted “he’s probably going for the three” and later criticised Mercedes for failing to warn him to push before his second pit stop, saying the team “exposed me” to team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli kept the pressure on Russell through the middle of the race, probing his defences before both made their second stops. He spent the final stint chasing Russell while also fending off Lando Norris, who stayed close behind.
Antonelli also accumulated numerous track limits warnings during the race. McLaren believed Antonelli had already gathered enough strikes to merit a five-second time penalty well before the finish.
With six laps remaining, Antonelli suddenly closed up to Russell, drew alongside on the pit straight and executed a decisive move. Russell’s late defensive attempt failed and Antonelli surged ahead, appearing to have secured the position despite minor right-front wing damage.
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On the following lap Antonelli slowed at the exit of turn five and came to a halt. Almost at the same time, Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari slid off at turn two with an apparent steering issue. The VSC was deployed for Antonelli while Leclerc limped back to the pits and retired.
The interruption did not unsettle Hamilton. He crossed the line nearly 20 seconds clear of Russell to take the win. Lando Norris moved up to third, completing a British podium sweep.
Max Verstappen finished fourth in an otherwise quiet race, while his team mate recovered from a poor start to finish sixth behind Oscar Piastri. Pierre Gasly secured seventh for Alpine after being allowed ahead of team mate Franco Colapinto by team order.
Late retirements elevated the two Racing Bulls drivers into the points, with Liam Lawson finishing ahead of Arvid Lindblad. Lance Stroll retired alongside team mate Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg, who also failed to finish.
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