Silverstone, United Kingdom (AFP) — Charles Leclerc beamed with pleasure and relief on Sunday after his long-awaited first win since 2024 — and Ferrari’s 250th — in an extraordinary British Grand Prix reignited the F1 championship.

As the race ended with a five-lap procession behind the Safety Car, a decision that cost seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton second and Ferrari a likely first 1-2 finish at Silverstone since 2002, the Monegasque cruised to his ninth career win.

“After all the work we put in to try and get feeling back into the car. I found something yesterday and confirmed it today and the feeling is back,” said the winner.

The late safety car was deployed after four-time champion Max Verstappen crashed out in his Red Bull while championship leader Kimi Antonelli suffered a broken wheel shield on his Mercedes.

Ferrari had been running first and second before they pitted both cars under the late safety car — a move that saw Leclerc stay in the lead, but which cost Hamilton second as Mercedes’ George Russell stayed out and took second place.

Hamilton shrugged off his personal disappointment after claiming a record 16th Silverstone podium and praised Leclerc and Ferrari despite criticism and heated debate about the stewards’ decision to conclude the race without a final lap of racing.

“Congratulations to Charles — winning this Grand Prix is a special experience and this is a great result for our team. I just didn’t have it today — all the magic that I had on Friday disappeared over the weekend.

“I went through a yellow flag and I didn’t see it and I jumped the start… When it rains it pours!

He added that he felt Ferrari were capable of closing in on Mercedes in the title race.

“I am not sure what happened to Kimi (Antonelli), but our team is doing a phenomenal job. We have some work still to do to close the gap in pure performance, but these results — two wins now this year — is just fantastic.”