Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix and strengthened his Formula 1 championship lead, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired on the opening lap after contact with Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc finished second, with Max Verstappen completing the podium.
The race turned on strategy as much as outright pace. A virtual safety car gave Leclerc the chance to pit and return ahead of Antonelli, but the Mercedes driver closed the gap and reclaimed the lead from the Ferrari on lap 34 of 44 along the Kemmel straight.
Russell’s early retirement had major championship consequences. He dropped to third in the standings, 50 points behind Antonelli, while Hamilton’s fourth-place finish moved him back into second, five points ahead of Russell.
Ferrari had a busy afternoon beyond Leclerc’s podium. Hamilton received a five-second penalty connected to the Russell incident, and the team was fined after a pit-release incident involving a mechanic. Lando Norris also lost out after the VSC disrupted his alternate strategy, eventually finishing seventh after starting 13th.
Antonelli’s sixth victory in 10 races puts him back in control before Formula 1 heads to the Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break.
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