Russell Out in Lap 1

Victory at Spa! Kimi Antonelli Extends His World Championship Lead

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix.(Bild: AFP/ANDREJ ISAKOVIC)

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has extended his lead in the Formula 1 drivers' standings with a commanding start-to-finish victory in Belgium. The Mercedes driver prevailed on Sunday ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Antonelli’s teammate and closest challenger heading into the race, George Russell, retired as early as the first lap.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has cemented his dominance in Formula 1 with his triumph at the Belgian Grand Prix. The Italian celebrated his sixth victory of the season on Sunday at Spa-Francorchamps, narrowly edging out Silverstone winner Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari. Red Bull star Max Verstappen rounded out the podium in third place. Antonelli thus extended his lead in the World Championship once again. The 19-year-old now leads Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton—who finished fourth—by 45 points.

George Russell, who started the race from third on the grid, suffered a bitter setback in the second Mercedes. Now third in the championship, 50 points behind the leader, he was spun out of the race by Hamilton on the first lap, losing contact with his teammate once again. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished fifth ahead of Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull, while World Champion Lando Norris (McLaren) had to settle for seventh place.

Antonelli Back on the Top Step
“It feels great after a few difficult weekends,” said Antonelli, referring to the mechanical failures in Barcelona and Silverstone as well as a third-place finish in Spielberg. “It was a hard-fought victory because Charles was fast.” Leclerc was pleased with his second top result in a row. “I believed in the win right up until the end. The pace was relatively strong,” said the Monegasque driver, who crossed the finish line just under two seconds behind Antonelli. Verstappen was also satisfied. “Kimi and I had a bit of bad luck with the virtual safety car. It’s great to be on the podium now,” said the Belgian-born Dutchman.

Before the summer break, the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring is scheduled for next Sunday. In any case, Antonelli will head into the nearly month-long break as the overall leader.

Leclerc’s Blazing Start, Russell in the Gravel
In a turbulent start phase, during which it drizzled briefly, pole-setter Antonelli defended his lead against an aggressive Verstappen. Leclerc was the winner of the first lap, with the Monegasque driver moving up two positions to second place. Russell, on the other hand, emerged as the big loser after the Englishman ended up in the gravel trap following contact with Hamilton’s car. The record-holding world champion blamed a lack of front-end grip for the collision, but the stewards nevertheless handed Hamilton a five-second penalty.

Kimi Antonelli(Bild: GEPA)

Russell, however, did not blame his compatriot for the accident. “I’m not mad at Lewis. I just shouldn’t have been there. I was two spots ahead of him at the start and was then overtaken by three cars,” he said. After the ensuing safety car period, Antonelli continued to lead the race on the hilly, historic circuit in the Ardennes, with the rest of the field trailing by a matter of seconds. Norris, who had started from 13th on the grid after a ten-place penalty, quickly worked his way up to sixth place. Verstappen switched to the hardest tire set on the 18th of 44 laps; Antonelli countered one lap later despite having better tire wear and shortly after a virtual safety car—thereby relinquishing his lead.

Leclerc benefited from the virtual safety car
Two laps later, a virtual safety car was deployed again due to a piece of debris on the track. Leclerc changed his tires and emerged from the pit lane just ahead of Antonelli. Hamilton had a scare during his tire change when he nearly ran over a Ferrari mechanic. Antonelli then slowly closed in on Leclerc and was back on track to win with ten laps to go. Norris dropped to seventh place after a botched pit stop.