F1 LIVE: Charles Leclerc has slyly dug at Ferrari for failing to put him in final stages of British Grand Prix

Mick Schumacher was relieved to have silenced his critics after scoring the first points of his Formula 1 career at the British Grand Prix.

The Haas driver was involved in a battle with Max Verstappen for seventh place in the closing stages, but nevertheless crossed the line in eighth for the moment he had been waiting for in the 32nd F1 race of his career.

“I think in general we are very happy to come back from P19,” he told F1.com.

“I said we had the speed to move forward and we certainly showed that today.

“It’s great for the team, we have the double score in the points. That is of course very helpful to the constructors, but I also think it’s great to get those questions away from the media and focus on what’s really important and that’s the racing and the driving itself. †

Charles Leclerc has spoken of his ‘disappointment’ after finishing fourth in the British Grand Prix – he had led the way for much of the dramatic 52-lap race.

The Ferrari driver did not pit for new tires during the last safety car period, while rivals around him, such as team-mates Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton, stopped for fresh rubber.

It meant Leclerc was a sitting duck despite his best efforts, finishing off the podium and the Monegask had a sly dig at his own Ferrari team in a post-race Instagram post.

“Well done to @carlossainz55 if you fulfill a childhood dream, you deserve that mate,’ he said.

“For my part, I am incredibly disappointed. Damaged car on lap 1, but we flew. Great battles on the track, but I couldn’t do much with old tires at the end of the race.”

The Chinese rookie driver, who entered only his 10th Formula 1 race, was turned upside down after a collision with George Russell at turn one of the first lap and flew into the fence past the tire barrier.

The marshals and medical team at the scene responded quickly, with Zhou trapped in the car and getting him out before placing the 23-year-old on a stretcher.

Zhou tweeted shortly afterwards that the halo device – introduced in 2018 to protect the drivers in the cockpit – saved his life and emphasized his gratitude to the silverstone staff for their ‘fantastic’ work.

He tweeted: “Hello everyone! Thank you all for the sweet messages. I want to thank the marshals and the medical team at Silverstone, they were really fantastic. I’m more excited than ever to get back on track, see you in Austria!”

The protesters, from the Just Stop Oil activist group, sat down on the Wellington straight on lap one, with the race red flagged just before the cars reached the group following Guanyu Zhou’s crash seconds earlier at Abbey.

“I think there’s been some talk about it, I think everyone is free to have their own opinion about it,” said four-time world champion Vettel after the race.

The protesters who stormed Sunday’s British Grand Prix remain in police custody after their arrest Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali labeled their actions as “dangerous and irresponsible”.

Five men, ages 21 to 46, and two women, ages 20 and 44, were arrested after the terrifying runway invasion in the opening round to silverstone†

Although the incident was not shown on F1’s global television feed, eyewitness footage emerged of five people – believed to represent climate activist group Just Stop Oil – entering the track on the high-speed Wellington Straight. They then sat down on the asphalt.

The race had just been halted after Zhou Guanyu’s horrific crash into the first corner, but several drivers rushed through the quintet as they returned to the pits. The protesters were quickly dragged away by marshals.

Lewis Hamilton says he “loves people fighting for the planet” after seven people were arrested following an invasion of the track at the start of the British Grand Prix – later adding that such protests “must be done safely”.

With the race immediately red-flagged after Guanyu Zhou’s heavy crash at Abbey and cars headed for the pits, protesters broke up the track on the Wellington Straight before sitting down.

Hamilton, who was told only about the focus of the protest at the post-race press conference and unaware of the method chosen, backed their cause – with those taking to the track wearing T-shirts protesting global oil consumption.

After originally “inciting the protesters”, Hamilton later explained: “I didn’t know what the protest was for and I just now found out.”

Zhou Guanyu escaped without serious injuries thanks to the halo of his car after a terrifying accident, as did Roy Nissany in Formula Two earlier in the day.

Ferrari’s Sainz took its maiden F1 win on his 150th attempt – beating Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and home favorite Lewis Hamilton in a frenetic climax to the season’s race in front of a record 142,000 fans at Silverstone.

But the 10th round of the campaign will be remembered for a stunning accident involving Chinese rookie Zhou.

Six seconds after the lights went out, Pierre Gasly made contact with George Russell† The British driver then tapped the right rear of Zhou’s machine at 160 mph, causing it to fall on his roof and slip out of control.

A combination of crashes, Safety Cars, problems with other vehicles and some fantastic late overtakes saw the seven-time champion finish on the podium for the first time since the opening round of the 2022 season in Bahrain, after a campaign of battle with porpoises and control issues in the new Mercedes car.

But on a day when about 120,000 fans attended race day on silverstoneHamilton – who briefly led the race – praised the opportunity as F1 at its best and hoped the performance could provide a platform for improvement for the rest of the year.

“We’ve had the greatest show in history, thank you for this incredible support – we don’t see this anywhere else in the world,” he said after the race.

Sainz fought his way past Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in a brilliant 10-lap shootout to the checkered flag after a safety car period to claim his first Formula 1 win.

Sergio Perez finished second, with Lewis Hamilton third after making his way around Leclerc with four laps of the 52 laps remaining.