SILVERSTONE, England, ⁠July 4 (Reuters) - Kimi Antonelli ⁠beat home favourite Lewis ‌Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix sprint race for Mercedes ​on Saturday and ⁠forge 43 ⁠points clear in the Formula One ⁠standings.

Ferrari's ‌Hamilton started on pole but had ⁠to settle for second, 2.7 ​seconds ‌behind, after being passed on ⁠the ​eighth of 17 laps. McLaren's Lando Norris finished ⁠third.

Antonelli's teammate George Russell, ​his closest championship rival, finished fourth at a blustery Silverstone.

With ⁠a maximum eight points for a sprint win, 19-year-old Italian Antonelli now ​has 179 points ⁠to Russell's 136 with seven ​times world ‌champion Hamilton on ​132.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Toby Chopra)