Kimi Antonelli ended a three-race winless streak on Sunday by taking a solid, fighting victory for Mercedes in the Belgian Grand Prix, extending his lead in the Formula One drivers’ championship. The 19-year-old Italian finished 1.952 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with four-time champion Max Verstappen third for Red Bull after an incident-filled race that featured Safety Car and virtual safety car interruptions, multiple steward reviews and a costly Ferrari pit-lane mishap.
The win was Antonelli’s sixth of the season and came from his sixth pole position of the year. It also made him the first driver to win from pole in Belgium since 2021, underlining the significance of a result that steadied his campaign after three races without a victory.
How the Belgian GP unfolded
The race began in cool conditions under a grey sky with rain in the air. Antonelli made a good start to lead into La Source, but he was quickly challenged as Verstappen deployed his power pack to pass him through Eau Rouge. Verstappen’s move did not settle the lead for long: he was immediately vulnerable to a counter-attack, and both Antonelli and Leclerc drafted past him into Les Combes.
Behind the lead fight, drama struck early. Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell—who started the race second in the championship, 25 points behind Antonelli—crashed out on the opening lap after tangling with Lewis Hamilton. A Safety Car was deployed as Russell retired, while Verstappen continued in fifth.
Hamilton reported he “had no front end” control as a result of a car ahead moving across him. Stewards investigated and handed Hamilton a five-second penalty. Russell later described the clash as a “racing incident,” while also lamenting that it “shouldn’t have happened” if he had had the speed down the straight.
Racing resumed on lap five with Oscar Piastri fighting and resisting Hamilton, before Verstappen swept past Leclerc for second. Piastri then chased Leclerc and the pair touched at Les Combes, where Leclerc defended and Piastri lost a piece of front wing end plate. The stewards investigated but took “no further action.”
Hamilton continued to make progress and passed Piastri for fourth on lap nine as the race settled after a frantic opening. Antonelli held a two-second advantage at the front ahead of Verstappen, with both Ferraris next in line.
Further virtual safety cars intervened, and a key sequence arrived on lap 20 when Ferrari opted for a “double-stack” pit stop. Leclerc’s stop was clean, but Hamilton—who also had to serve his five-second penalty—had a messy exit and touched a mechanic. The mechanic was reported to be fine, and after deliberation the stewards decided that because Hamilton stopped immediately following the incident and lost more time, a further penalty for the driver was not justified.
Ferrari, however, were handed a 30,000 euro fine, with 10,000 euro suspended for 12 months, and were ordered to provide the FIA with a report detailing “protocols introduced to mitigate the risk of such an incident” from reoccurring.
The pit-lane episode reshuffled the order. Lando Norris—reigning world champion—briefly led after starting 13th following a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new battery, running ahead of Leclerc, Antonelli and Verstappen. Leclerc then cruised by to take command on lap 23, with Antonelli sweeping past Norris three laps later to begin his pursuit of the Ferrari.
Norris eventually pitted and rejoined eighth after a slow stop caused by a sticky left rear. Isack Hadjar, who had started at the back of the grid, continued an impressive climb and rose to sixth, later holding off Norris to the finish.
Leclerc led until lap 34, when Antonelli’s “superior power” carried him through at Les Combes to take the decisive pass. Leclerc stayed within a second of the Mercedes to the flag, but Antonelli held on for the win. Hamilton, meanwhile, recovered to fourth, passing Piastri for the position with five laps remaining.
Result and championship picture
Antonelli’s victory lifted him to 204 points in the championship, 45 clear of Hamilton, with Russell third on 154 after his opening-lap retirement. Verstappen completed the Belgian GP podium in third, while Hadjar’s charge from the back to sixth stood out as one of the drives of the day, narrowly keeping Norris behind.
After returning to the top step, Antonelli said: “It feels very nice to be back on the top step. We just have to keep performing, keep bringing the results and then we will see what will happen at the end of the year.”
