Beijing, July 19: Kimi Antonelli clinched victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, surpassing Charles Leclerc. After his Mercedes teammate George Russell was forced to retire on the first lap, Antonelli strengthened his lead in the Formula 1 championship.
Following two races without scoring points, Antonelli made a comeback, securing his sixth win of the 2026 season. After initially leading at Spa-Francorchamps, the Italian driver lost first place when Leclerc capitalized on a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) during a pit stop. However, Antonelli gradually reduced the three-second gap and overtook Leclerc at Les Combes on the 34th lap, maintaining his lead to secure the win.
This victory extended Antonelli’s championship lead over Russell from 25 points to 50, as the British driver was taken out of the race due to a collision with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on the first lap. Leclerc finished in second place, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen completed the podium.
Antonelli started from pole position but briefly lost the lead to Verstappen while heading towards Eau Rouge. He regained first place when braking for Les Combes. Russell’s race ended shortly after his collision with Hamilton, which sent his Mercedes into the gravel. Both drivers described the incident as a “racing incident,” but Hamilton received a five-second penalty for his involvement.
Antonelli was leading early on, but Mercedes called him in for a pit stop at the end of lap 18. Ferrari kept Leclerc on track for two more laps, benefiting from the VSC caused by debris, allowing him to pit quickly and gain the lead. Lando Norris, who started on hard tires, briefly led the race before Antonelli and Leclerc overtook him. Antonelli quickly closed in on Leclerc and took the lead with ten laps remaining.
In the closing laps, Leclerc remained close but posed no significant challenge. Antonelli’s victory bolstered his title hopes. Hamilton finished fourth, temporarily placing him second in the championship with 159 points, just five points ahead of Russell.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished fifth, followed by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris in another McLaren. Norris climbed from 13th on the grid after receiving a ten-place penalty for exceeding power unit component limits. Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto finished eighth, Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad took ninth, and Franco Colopinto for Alpine rounded out the top ten. Formula 1 now heads towards the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26.
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