Charles Leclerc’s victory at Silverstone on Sunday was anything but straightforward. While the Ferrari driver ultimately claimed his second win of the 2026 Formula 1 season, he had to overcome far more than just the relentless pressure from Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
Until Antonelli’s unfortunate wheel cover issue effectively ended his challenge, the Mercedes driver had been pushing Leclerc hard throughout the race. On top of that, the Ferrari star also had to deal with a number of unexpected obstacles that threatened to derail his march to victory.
A hard-earned victory
The most obvious challenge came in the closing stages, when the Safety Car wiped out Leclerc’s comfortable lead over the chasing pack. Had the Safety Car returned to the pits before the chequered flag and allowed one final racing lap, the Ferrari driver’s hopes of victory could have been placed in serious jeopardy.
However, Leclerc had already experienced another major scare much earlier in the race.
A tense moment with Carlos Sainz
On lap 37, while attempting to lap his former Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz, the 28-year-old found himself involved in a potentially dangerous misunderstanding. The incident was not shown during the live television broadcast, but it quickly generated widespread discussion across social media, with some of the reactions becoming unnecessarily hostile.
At that stage of the race, Charles Leclerc was fully focused on defending his lead from Kimi Antonelli, who had just completed his pit stop, fitted fresh tyres and was rapidly closing the gap.
😳GALİBİYET YERİNE KAZAYI KONUŞUYOR OLABİLİRDİK!
💥Carlos Sainz, mavi bayrak altında Charles Leclerc’i bariyerlere itmiş. pic.twitter.com/zDw2GlDUPZ
— Tutkumuz F1 (@F1tutkumuz) July 6, 2026
As Charles Leclerc tried to pass Sainz’s Williams through Woodcote, the onboard footage shows the Spanish driver initially appearing to move aside to leave room for the Ferrari. Moments later, however, Carlos Sainz held the normal racing line and effectively closed the inside of the corner.
The Monegasque, who had already committed to the gap he believed had been left open, was forced into a sudden evasive move to the right. In doing so, he clipped the inside kerb with his front-right wheel and came dangerously close to losing control of the SF-26.
The incident clearly frustrated the Monegasque driver. As the pair accelerated towards Copse, Charles Leclerc pulled alongside Sainz and made his feelings clear with an unmistakable hand gesture before finally completing the lapping manoeuvre and continuing on his way to victory.
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