Kimi Antonelli passes Charles Leclerc for F1 Belgian GP win as George Russell suffers title setback
Kimi Antonelli scores another win as championship rival George Russell taken out on first lap.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli overtook Charles Leclerc to claim victory in a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix, as George Russell suffered a major blow to his Formula 1 title hopes.
Italian teenager Antonelli strengthened his lead at the top of the world championship as he converted his sixth pole position into a sixth win of the 2026 season, but the Mercedes driver was made to work hard for it.
Having overcome Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in an early battle, Antonelli controlled the early stages but found himself behind Leclerc after Ferrari capitalised on a virtual safety car to make a cheap pit stop.
Leclerc moved into the lead following the virtual safety car and held the position until lap 34 when Antonelli overtook the Ferrari around the outside along the Kemmel Straight.
Antonelli successfully resisted pressure from Leclerc to claim his first victory since the Monaco Grand Prix four races ago and gain 25 points on Russell, who was taken out in a first-lap collision with Lewis Hamilton.
After losing ground at the start, Russell was trying to drive around the outside of Hamilton at Les Combes when the pair made contact, sending Russell spinning off into the gravel and out of the race.
The heartbreaking retirement leaves Russell 50 points behind Antonelli in the championship standings.
Max Verstappen completed the podium in third place for Red Bull, some way adrift of the battling leading pair of Antonelli and Leclerc.
Hamilton recovered from a five-second time penalty for causing the collision with Russell to take fourth ahead of Oscar Piastri.
However, the seven-time world champion could yet be hit with a further penalty with Ferrari facing a post-race investigation for an unsafe release.
After serving his time penalty during his one and only pit stop, Hamilton accidentally struck a mechanic who appeared to be trying to carry out a late front wing tweak. Hamilton pulled out of his pit box after seeing Ferrari’s automatic signal turning green.
Ferrari confirmed the mechanic involved was unhurt.
Isack Hadjar incredibly recovered from the back of the grid to take a strong sixth, having held off a charging Lando Norris. The reigning world champion rose from 13th after serving his own grid penalty for moving onto his fourth battery of the season.
Gabriel Bortoleto scored solid points for Audi, beating Arvid Lindblad in the upgraded Racing Bulls to finish eighth. Franco Colapinto edged out Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly to claim the final point on offer in 10th.
Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez joined Russell on the sidelines after retiring from the race.
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