Antonelli wins in Spa from Leclerc and Verstappen as Russell retires on opening lap

Credit: Formula One

Kimi Antonelli extends his championship lead once more as he took a controlled lights-to-flag victory at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc running in contention for the win after an efficient stop under the Virtual Safety Car but unable to respond to the Mercedes' superior pace.

Meanwhile, it was yet another heartbreak for George Russell who was taken out of the Grand Prix after a first lap incident with Lewis Hamilton that left him beached in the gravel. Hamilton received a five-second time penalty for the same, undoing his chances of a positive result as well.

Max Verstappen completed the podium in an action-packed race at Spa-Francorchamps. Here's how the race panned out.

Race Report

As the five red lights went out, the Belgian Grand Prix kicked off with Antonelli defending position into the first corner but Verstappen quickly snatched the lead into Raidillon.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc had jumped Russell and pulled up alongside Verstappen who was back in second, taking that position from the Dutch driver. Soon after, chaos descended upon the track on the opening lap as Russell and Hamilton had tapped each other, Russell left stranded on the gravel.

The Safety Car was immediately deployed, as several incidents further back in the field also shook proceedings due to the domino effect of Russell and Hamilton’s clash.

The Safety Car continued into Lap 4, with the top 10 led by Antonelli followed by Leclerc, Verstappen, Oscar Piastri, Hamilton, Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad, Franco Colapinto, Gabriel Bortoleto and Lando Norris who had made it up into the points on the hard tyres after starting 13th due to a 10-place grid penalty.

That same lap, we returned to green flag racing, as Hamilton immediately pounded on Piastri for fourth. The Australian driver quickly retook the position up the Kemmel Straight, but it was clear that this battle was only just beginning.

Antonelli held on to the lead while Leclerc did well to remain within a second of the Mercedes driver. Leclerc had to take defensive action against Verstappen however, but the Dutch driver took back second from the Ferrari driver on Lap 6.

Meanwhile, Norris was on the hunt, picking off Bortoleto and the Alpine pair. Up ahead, Norris’ teammate was caught up in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Leclerc for third place, as the two drivers made contact with debris flying out onto the track.

Leclerc held on to third as the gap between the Ferrari driver and Piastri widened, as the McLaren driver’s troubles took the shape of one Hamilton chasing him down.

Hamilton soon passed Piastri for fourth as Piastri went from looking at third to fifth place. 

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Hamilton was to serve a five-second time penalty for the opening lap incident that took Russell out of the Grand Prix, just as his teammate was also noted alongside Piastri for their earlier contact.

Piastri then got the message that he was carrying damage to the right side of the car floor.

By Lap 10, Antonelli had eked out the lead to nearly two seconds. Further behind, it was Ferrari vs Ferrari for third place, with Piastri still lurking right behind the pair. Meanwhile, Norris had caught up in the order to the frontrunners, now in sixth behind Piastri, but still remained seven seconds away from his teammate.

Another driver making moves up the field was Isack Hadjar who also had a grid penalty that saw him start in 21st. The Red Bull driver was 12th by Lap 13, closing in to the top 10.

On Lap 15, Pierre Gasly flicked the switch on the first round of stops, prompting other midfield drivers including Carlos Sainz and Colapinto to box as well. Lawson also took his stop and managed to cover off both Alpine drivers. 

Lindblad changed tyres the following lap, and found himself released right ahead of his teammate, the two drivers coming close to contact.

Meanwhile, it was announced that the incident between Leclerc and Piastri that resulted in contact and damage would receive no further investigation. 

Verstappen was the first of the frontrunners to blink, as a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed on Lap 18 to clear debris on track. Antonelli elected to stop at that moment but was unable to capitalise on the swift VSC that went away as quickly as it came.

Meanwhile, Norris had caught up to Piastri, easily taking third from his teammate and recovering to where he had first qualified. The Australian driver repassed Norris however, just as another VSC was invoked.

Both Ferrari drivers and Piastri boxed under the VSC, which worked out beautifully for Leclerc who had not pitted earlier with Antonelli and Verstappen.

On Lap 21 after the VSC, Norris was leading the race still on the hard tyres, followed by Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen, Piastri, Hamilton, Hadjar, Lindblad and Lawson.

Hamilton, who had served his five-second penalty and was the second car in a double-stack, was now five seconds behind Piastri. Up in the lead, Leclerc smoothly passed Norris for the lead, then set the fastest lap on Lap 24 on the fresher hard tyres.

That same lap, Sergio Pérez became the second retirement of the day following a rear spring/damper issue.

While Leclerc was enjoying a two second lead, his teammate was having a horrid afternoon with an unsafe release to be investigated after the race as well as massive understeer hindering his performance.

Behind Leclerc, Norris continued to hold off Antonelli despite being on 26-lap old hard tyres, but the Mercedes driver eventually took the position and set his sights on chasing down Leclerc.

On Lap 29, Verstappen overtook Norris, the McLaren driver still on the worn hard tyres. Norris finally came for his first stop of the day the following lap after holding out hope for a VSC but not able to capitalise one, and was treated to a sticky stop that saw him rejoin the track later in eighth.

At the sharp end of the field, Antonelli had closed down the gap to Leclerc, now within a second of the Ferrari driver with 10 laps to go. Antonelli made his move on Leclerc at the end of the Kemmel Straight, but Leclerc remained within striking distance of the Mercedes driver. 

This was now the straight fight for the win that we almost had in Silverstone between Antonelli and Leclerc. On Lap 37, Leclerc was six tenths behind Antonelli, the Ferrari driver continuing to mount the pressure on the championship leader with more to lose.

The gap fell away though, as Antonelli pulled out of Leclerc’s grasp and built a 1.3 second lead into Lap 40. 

With three laps to go, another battle gaining traction was the intra-team fight for the last point between Colapinto in 10th and Gasly right behind him. Meanwhile, Lindblad in the sole upgraded Racing Bulls was ahead in ninth while Lawson was left in 12th.

The final lap saw Antonelli take a sixth win of the season ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen, extending his championship lead once more as Russell will be left reeling from another unfortunate Grand Prix.

Up Next

Our next stop on the calendar is Hungary the upcoming week, the last round before the summer break. Antonelli will be eager to continue building the buffer to his rivals, while Hamilton and Russell will hope to mount more of a challenge to the unstoppable teenaged Italian.