Leclerc seals Ferrari's 250th win at Silverstone as Schumacher backs title charge

Charles Leclerc delivered Ferrari their 250th Formula 1 grand prix victory at Silverstone, winning a dramatic 2026 British Grand Prix that ended under safety car conditions after Max Verstappen beached his car in the gravel late in the race. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who had been running second, dropped to third after pitting under the safety car, with Mercedes’ George Russell capitalising to take second place.

The milestone result prompted former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher to declare Ferrari genuine contenders for the world championship. “Lewis Hamilton is functioning within the team, so everything is headed in the right direction, and Ferrari can fight for a world championship again,” Schumacher said. “That’s been a while.”

Schumacher also noted the contrast with Hamilton’s difficult debut season at Ferrari in 2025. “We missed out on congratulating him, as it looked very different last year. There was lots of pressure on everything, and all the things he’s done seem to have helped him.”

For Leclerc, the win was his first of the 2026 season and arrived after a run of difficult weekends. “It feels incredible,” the Monegasque driver said after the race. “To win after the last few weekends that have been particularly difficult — all the work we put into trying to get the feeling back in the car. I felt like I found something yesterday after the sprint, but I had to confirm it today. Today the feeling was back where it needs to be. I’m so incredibly happy.”

Leclerc traced his recent struggles back to Monaco, where he crashed in qualifying and then retired from the race with a mechanical issue. Further incidents in Barcelona and a below-par weekend in Austria followed before Silverstone brought the turnaround. “Here we managed to put everything together and I hope I can keep that momentum going forward,” he added.

The result strengthens Ferrari’s position in the constructors’ standings and gives the Maranello outfit renewed confidence heading into the remainder of the season, with both drivers now seemingly settled and contributing points at the sharp end of the grid.