Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli strengthened his grip on the Formula 1 championship by claiming victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, while team-mate George Russell’s race ended on the opening lap following contact with Lewis Hamilton.
The Italian secured his sixth win in 10 races this season after overtaking Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc late in the race, restoring a commanding lead in the standings after seeing his advantage reduced over the previous three rounds. Russell’s retirement dropped him to third in the championship, 50 points behind Antonelli, while Hamilton moved back into second after finishing fourth.
Starting from pole position, Antonelli made a smart tactical move on the opening lap to protect the lead. He briefly allowed Max Verstappen through at Eau Rouge before using the Red Bull driver’s slipstream to reclaim first place along the Kemmel Straight.
Behind the leaders, Russell attempted to pass Hamilton around the outside at Les Combes. Although the Mercedes driver had edged ahead, Hamilton’s Ferrari became unsettled by turbulent air from the cars in front, resulting in light contact that sent Russell spinning into the gravel and out of the race.
Antonelli carefully managed his tyres during the opening stint before increasing the pace ahead of his first pit stop. However, a virtual safety car triggered shortly afterward allowed Leclerc to make a significantly cheaper stop and emerge ahead of the Mercedes.
With Lando Norris leading temporarily on an alternative strategy, Leclerc soon reclaimed the lead before Antonelli began closing the gap. The Mercedes driver caught the Ferrari after several laps and completed the decisive overtake on lap 34 of 44 along the Kemmel Straight.
Despite coming under pressure from Leclerc and edging close to a five-second penalty for repeated track-limits violations, Antonelli remained composed and crossed the finish line just under two seconds clear. The victory marked his first since the Monaco Grand Prix, following a retirement in Spain, a podium in Austria and a difficult weekend at Silverstone.
Leclerc backed up his Silverstone victory with another strong drive to finish second after Ferrari displayed stronger race pace than expected. Verstappen completed the podium despite struggling with grip on his second set of tyres.
Hamilton’s afternoon proved far more eventful. In addition to receiving a five-second penalty for the opening-lap clash with Russell, the Ferrari driver was involved in an unsafe pit stop when the car was released before all mechanics had cleared the area. Hamilton clipped the mechanic responsible for the front-right tyre, immediately checking over team radio that he was unharmed. The crew member escaped injury, while Ferrari was later fined €30,000, with €10,000 suspended for 12 months. The team explained that a requested front-wing adjustment had not been entered into its system, causing the premature release.
Hamilton recovered from the setback to overtake Oscar Piastri and secure fourth place.
Norris produced an impressive recovery after starting 13th due to a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his seasonal allocation of power electronics. Running a hard-tyre strategy, the McLaren driver briefly inherited the race lead as rivals pitted and looked capable of challenging for a podium.
The virtual safety car, however, worked against his strategy. Forced to remain on track while rivals benefited from cheaper pit stops, Norris lost valuable time before finally making his own stop on lap 30. A slow tyre change, caused by difficulties replacing the left-rear wheel, further compromised his race.
Although he recovered to pass Gabriel Bortoleto for seventh, Norris was unable to catch Isack Hadjar and finished just 0.7 seconds behind the Racing Bulls driver in sixth.
British rookie Arvid Lindblad finished ninth for Racing Bulls, while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto claimed the final championship point in 10th.