Kimi Antonelli managed to claw back from an ill‑timed Virtual Safety Car (VSC) interruption, passed Charles Leclerc and clinched the Belgian Grand Prix, while his teammate George Russell saw his title aspirations take a serious blow. Antonelli widened his lead over Russell to 50 points after the British driver was forced into the gravel at the fifth corner on the opening lap, a mishap caused by a collision with Lewis Hamilton that the stewards ruled to be Ferrari's fault. Hamilton received a five‑second time penalty, which he served during his only pit stop, and ultimately crossed the line in fourth place after overtaking McLaren's Oscar Piastri with four laps remaining. The post‑race session also saw an investigation into an unsafe release from Ferrari's pit box.
A Ferrari crew member was struck by the front‑right tyre as Hamilton was mistakenly given the green light to leave his pit box. The mechanic was knocked to his knees but escaped injury. Ferrari were fined €30,000 for the breach, with one‑third of the sum suspended for a year.
In the championship standings, Hamilton reclaimed second place behind Antonelli, leaving Russell 45 points adrift of the Italian driver, whose sixth win of the season reinforces his status as a favourite for the title as the calendar heads toward the Hungarian Grand Prix and the summer hiatus. Mercedes' reliability woes had already cost Russell two of the last three races, further compounding his difficulties. Max Verstappen, who briefly led the race after overtaking Antonelli at Eau Rouge on lap one, was soon passed again when the Mercedes driver reclaimed the lead.
Verstappen eventually settled for third after being overtaken by Leclerc during the VSC period. The Dutchman struggled on the hard compound in the final stint, finishing nine seconds behind Leclerc, which marked Red Bull's 300th podium finish in Formula 1. Isack Hadjar delivered a strong performance for Red Bull, climbing to sixth after starting from the back row.
He capitalised on two pit stops taken under the early safety car triggered by Russell's crash to meet the mandatory tyre‑change regulations. Hadjar defended his position against Lando Norris, who had fresher tyres after a late stop, holding off the McLaren driver despite Norris' speed advantage. Further down the order, Gabriel Bortoleto secured eighth place for Audi, followed by Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad in ninth and Alpine's Franco Colapinto in tenth.
The official top ten was: 1) Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 2) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 3) Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 4) Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 5) Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 6) Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) 7) Lando Norris (McLaren) 8) Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 9) Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 10) Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Antonelli entered the race as the clear favourite after securing pole position in qualifying. The 19‑year‑old, however, faced a challenging first lap due to the slipstream‑friendly nature of Spa‑Francorchamps' opening sector. He held the lead through La Source but was overtaken by Verstappen as they descended Eau Rouge.
The Mercedes driver, with a stronger charge on the Kemmel Straight, reclaimed the lead before the Les Combes braking zone. Leclerc launched impressively from fourth on the grid, passing Verstappen and joining the fight for the lead. Verstappen retook second on lap six and, despite pre‑race expectations that Antonelli would adopt a defensive strategy, kept the Mercedes within striking distance, trailing by less than three seconds when he pitted on lap 17. Antonelli pitted a lap later and emerged ahead of the Red Bull, preserving his race lead.
Ferrari chose to keep both of their cars out longer, a decision that paid dividends when a VSC was deployed on lap 20 due to debris on the track. The reduced‑speed period allowed Ferrari to pit both drivers simultaneously with a smaller time loss than under green‑flag conditions. Leclerc capitalised, emerging ahead of both Verstappen and Antonelli. Hamilton, meanwhile, served his five‑second penalty before his tyre change could begin.
A further delay occurred when a mechanic adjusting his front wing was knocked over after Hamilton was mistakenly given the signal to leave the pit box. Despite these setbacks, Hamilton fought back, eventually finishing fourth. Leclerc re‑joined the race 2.5 seconds ahead of Antonelli, with slightly fresher hard tyres.
Yet the Mercedes still possessed superior straight‑line speed. On lap 34, Antonelli used the Kemmel Straight to overtake Leclerc once more, reclaiming the lead. The remainder of the race saw Antonelli extend his advantage, ultimately crossing the finish line just 1.9 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
The narrow margin underscored the intensity of the contest and the significance of the victory given Antonelli's recent misfortunes and Russell's early exit. After the checkered flag, Antonelli reflected on his performance: "It feels great to be back on the top step after a few tough rounds. It was a hard‑fought race. We lost the lead during the VSC but managed to fight back.
It was a tough win because Charles was quick and we had to hold onto them." Leclerc, who had enjoyed a resurgence in form with a win at Silverstone, added: "I believed in the win until the end. We got a bit of luck with the VSC at the right time, but the pace was strong. There were five or six laps on the hard tyres when I was struggling with the front axle, then it came back a little bit." For Russell, the weekend could not have been more disappointing.
Starting third on the grid, he held his position into the first lap until the Ferraris drafted past him on the Kemmel Straight, and he also faced pressure from Piastri's McLaren. Attempting to regain ground, Russell tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside of Les Combes, but Hamilton's understeering Ferrari clipped the Mercedes' rear wheel, sending Russell spinning into the gravel. Although stewards penalised Hamilton for the incident, Russell's frustration centred on the persistent straight‑line speed deficit that plagued his Mercedes throughout the weekend.
"I just got totally swallowed up down the straight," he lamented. "I lost three positions down the straight into Turn Five and then the incident was a racing incident. Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he (Hamilton) could have braked a bit more. The incident shouldn't have happened if I had the speed down the straight." Looking ahead, the Formula 1 calendar moves straight to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with all sessions set to be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from Friday.
Fans can stream the coverage via Sky Sports NOW without a contract, with the option to cancel at any time.