Kimi Antonelli beats Lewis Hamilton in sprint race at F1's British Grand Prix

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways on Saturday by denying Lewis Hamilton a crowd-pleasing home victory in the sprint race ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton started on pole and held off Antonelli until lap eight of 17, when the Italian swept past with the help of electrical power.

"Let’s go! Let’s go!” Antonelli told the team over the radio after taking the win.

“It was a very fun first 10 laps with Lewis, we were both pushing very hard," Antonelli added later. “Obviously the momentum is there and we are doing a great job together with the team.”

The race was a prime example of F1 in 2026, with the strategy of charging and deploying electrical power central to the battles on track.

It allowed drivers like Lando Norris to swap places with rivals lap after lap but also meant drivers lifting off through Silverstone's best-known fast corners to recharge power.

Hamilton was back fighting for a win again after a breakthrough victory last month at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, his first since moving to Ferrari last year.

“I was pushing as hard as I could, I gave it absolutely everything,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a bit of work to do to try and close that gap.”

Lando Norris took third in McLaren’s white-and-green throwback livery after briefly running second at the start and then winning a thrilling back-and-forth battle with George Russell and Max Verstappen for third.

Antonelli's first win since last month's Monaco Grand Prix stretched his Formula 1 standings lead to 43 points over teammate Russell, who was fourth after starting fifth.

Russell had been complaining of a “strange” lack of pace in qualifying the day before, a setback after his win at the Austrian Grand Prix last week had boosted the British driver's title chances.

Charles Leclerc was fifth for Ferrari, Verstappen sixth for Red Bull, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri seventh. Liam Lawson was eighth for Racing Bulls but was facing a post-race investigation into his battle for position with Verstappen’s teammate Isack Hadjar.

Qualifying is later Saturday for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy, left, speaks with second placed Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain after winning the sprint race ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy celebrates after winning the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Fans watch the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates his second position after the sprint race ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy crosses the finish line to win the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP)

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car followed by Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy and McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain during the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The Malian army said Saturday that several northern towns, including Gao and Sévaré, were targeted by rebels. The statement came as a rebel group announced a new offensive to capture a northern town.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for ​the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said in a Facebook post that the town of Anefis was being targeted by the separatists.

Mohamed Cissé, a resident of Gao, told The Associated Press that the army is going door to door searching for attackers who are still in the city.

“For the moment, the calm has returned. But I learned that the attackers are still in a part of the city, so I stay inside the house with the family,” said Ousmane Maiga, another resident.

In a later statement, the Malian army claimed that “the situation is completely under control.” It added that in Sévaré, “20 terrorists on motorcycles and equipped vehicles were neutralized.”

But Rawani Ahmed Bouya, a member of the FLA and head of the National Office of the Azawad diaspora, told the AP that Anefis was under FLA control and that the fighting was almost over. His claim could not independently verified.

In late April, a coordinated attack by the FLA and the regional al-Qaida affiliate JNIM killed the defense minister in his home and took control of several key towns in the north of the country.

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, deputy project director for the International Crisis Group think tank, said that while the latest attacks are “nothing comparable” to those in April, reports of attacks across the border in Burkina Faso as well as across Mali could indicate an attempt to divert the attention of the army to secure more limited gains in northern Mali.

Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, said the targeting of Anefis was strategic because any Malian attempt to reverse the territorial gains from April would have been staged in Anefis.

Mali has previously faced insurgencies by militants affiliated with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the country’s north. The separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali.

Along with Mali, neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso have also been battling al-Qaida and IS affiliates.

Following military coups, the juntas in the three countries turned from Western allies to Russia for help combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened with a record number of militant attacks. Government forces have also been accused of killing civilians they suspect of collaborating with militants.

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Wilson McMakin reported from Dakar, Senegal

FILE - An ariel view of Bamako, Mali, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo)