Live: Piastri starts British GP eighth after driving 'nervous' McLaren

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Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:00pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:00pm

STARTING GRID: British Grand Prix

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:20pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:20pm

A one-stop strategy is the way to go tonight

By Michael Doyle

Let's look at the strategy for tonight's race.

It looks like we are in for a very simple one-stop race tonight.

The simulations from tyre provider Pirelli, as published on the F1 website, suggest the fastest way to finish the race is by starting on the medium compound, and then switching to the hards.

According to Pirelli's motorsport director Dario Marrafuschi, the medium compound tyre held up very well in yesterday's sprint race.

Looking at the tyres after the race, we could see the mediums were not graining.

It was pretty consistent and Kimi was able to do the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. The degradation was very close to zero.

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:05pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:05pm

Why F1's rumour mill is speculating futures of Piastri and Verstappen

By Michael Doyle

F1's rumour mill has been in overdrive in recent times about Oscar Piastri's future at McLaren, with his boss having to hose down suggestions the Australian will be driving anything other than a Papaya-coloured F1 car in 2027.

Catch up on the full story by tapping the link below.

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:00pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 11:00pm

One hour until the start of the Britsh Grand Prix

By Michael Doyle

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:50pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:50pm

The Hollywood reason why McLaren is green and white for the British GP

By Michael Doyle

Formula 1 fans will do double takes this weekend as McLaren races in green and white instead of its usual "papaya" orange.

Catch up on the full story by tapping the link below.

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:35pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:35pm

Is Silverstone the number one race of the year?

By Michael Doyle

G’day Michael. The number 1 race of the year imho. Interesting to hear some drivers lamenting the slower lap times with the current cars . Some 3 seconds slower. Not sure that’s progress. On an amusing / concerning note I don’t know if you saw Martin Brundle touring the track marshal positions during practice and talking about their role and their safety whilst standing BETWEEN the protective cages and the track. Bit strange ?

- Phillip

G'day Phillip.

Is Silverstone the number one race of the year? I get it. There is something special about a sporting event at a spiritual home.

It's like cricket at Lord's, or Aussie rules at the G. It just feels right.

Personally, Spa and Suzuka are my favourites as a fan to watch.

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:20pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:20pm

Piastri reflecting on driving 'nervous' car

By Michael Doyle

Oscar Piastri had a mixed day on Saturday.

While his McLaren, at times, showed promise, the Australian said it just was not able to materialise on track.

Piastri was seventh in the sprint race, and then qualified eighth for tonight's grand prix.

Piastri said his McLaren was "nervous" at times, lacking the grip in high-speed corners.

Here are Piastri's thoughts on Saturday's action.

In the Sprint, we made a good start, but once the battles settled, we just didn't have the pace.

This afternoon, we made some good set up changes, but we didn't quite see the benefits of them on track.

The car was nervous, especially in the high-speed corners, so we just were lacking grip and pace.

Even with these challenges, we know that when we get right, we can be right up there in the fight, like [Friday], when we were just a tenth off third place.

We have clear areas we need to work on to make the car more adaptable, and the team are working very hard to do that. Mercedes is clearly a step ahead right now, but we believe teams like Ferrari are not completely unbeatable, so we will keep chipping away, manage our tyres and see what we can achieve."

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:15pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:15pm

Catch up on Saturday's sprint race

By Michael Doyle

Kimi Antonelli blasted past home favourite Lewis Hamilton to take a first career sprint win at the British Grand Prix on Saturday and forge 43 points clear of Mercedes teammate George Russell in the Formula 1 standings.

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri started and finished seventh, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris soared up the order.

Catch up on all the action by tapping the link below.

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:10pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:10pm

Relive the action from last night's sprint race and GP qualifying

By Michael Doyle

— reporting by Reuters

Formula 1 leader Kimi Antonelli was too fast for Ferrari, and dealt another stinging blow to Mercedes teammate George Russell, as the Italian seized pole position for the British Grand Prix after winning an earlier sprint race.

His closest title rival Russell qualified only fourth at a windy Silverstone, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Leclerc was 0.175 of a second slower than the 19-year-old, whose fifth pole of the season extended Mercedes's record of securing the top slot at all nine grands prix so far in the campaign, but ahead of Hamilton for the first time since Miami in May.

"It was a very tidy lap, a lap where I put everything together," said Antonelli, of his best time of one minute 28.111 seconds set after going out first for the final run on the fast, sweeping circuit.

"It was very tricky with the wind because it was very gusty and unpredictable."

Antonelli won the 17-lap sprint ahead of Hamilton, a record nine-time winner at Silverstone in a career that started in 2007, to go 43 points clear of Briton Russell in the standings.

Winner of five grands prix in a row until Hamilton ended the streak in Spain last month, Antonelli has taken the sport by storm in his second season and appeared to have the measure of the experienced Russell in front of what is sure to be the biggest crowd of the year.

"It's not going to be easy because I have two Ferraris behind me and, for sure, they will work together," Antonelli said of the challenge he will face on Sunday.

"Their pace is good but ours was strong in the Sprint. Hopefully we can keep that for tomorrow and do a good race."

Leclerc said it was good to get back to speed on a Saturday.

"It has been a few tough races when the feeling was not quite right, struggling to put everything together," he said.

"There has been so much work behind the scenes to get back that feeling. This was the first time I had it back, I have struggled to be consistent but it is a good start."

Isack Hadjar qualified fifth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren's reigning world champion and last year's winner Lando Norris.

Red Bull's four-time world champion Max Verstappen will line up seventh, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri eighth and the Racing Bulls pair of rookie Arvid Lindblad — on his home debut — and Liam Lawson completing the top 10 places.

Russell, who started the season as title favourite, had a torrid afternoon — smashing his car's front wing when he speared wide across the gravel on the entry to Luffield and into the barriers in the first phase of qualifying.

He returned to the pits for a front wing change and managed to salvage the session, which saw Hadjar go fastest.

"That was very weird. I've never locked up there in my whole career," said Russell of the incident.

The Briton was a provisional second after the first round of flying laps in the final session but could not improve his time as the Ferraris went faster, his hopes of a first home Formula 1 win now looking more distant.

Alpine's Franco Colapinto also lost control in the first phase, the Argentine's car bouncing backwards across the grass after a high-speed spin at Becketts.

There was then a 15-minute delay between Q1 and Q2 as marshals cleared up the track and scattered gravel.

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:05pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:05pm

What time does the F1 British Grand Prix begin?

By Michael Doyle

12am AEST: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania

11:30pm ACST: South Australia, Northern Territory

10pm AWST: Western Australia

Key Event

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:00pm

Sun 5 Jul 2026 at 10:00pm

Welcome to the ABC Sport F1 live blog

By Michael Doyle

Good evening, Australia.

Welcome back to ABC Sport's live digital coverage of the 2026 Formula 1 championship season.

Tonight, we are racing at Silverstone for round nine of 22: the British Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli will start tonight's race on pole, while Oscar Piastri is eighth on the grid after driving a car he described yesterday as "nervous".

Join me throughout the night and be part of the conversation by tapping on the comment section.