– For several laps, Kimi Antonelli had to worry about the victory at the 2026 Belgian Formula 1 race here (follow live in the ticker), but in the end, the Mercedes driver prevailed at Spa-Francorchamps against Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who had moved ahead of the championship leader thanks to a pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car.
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With this, Antonelli also extended his championship lead and made up the full 25 points on his teammate George Russell, who had already ended up in the gravel trap and retired after a collision with Lewis Hamilton in the first lap.
Behind Antonelli and Leclerc, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished in third place. Fourth was Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), who received a five-second penalty for his collision with Russell and passed Oscar Piastri (McLaren) outside Les Combes five laps before the end, with Piastri settling for fifth place.
But: An investigation is still ongoing against Hamilton for Unsafe Release, as he hit his own mechanic during the pit stop.
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) changed tires twice under the early Safety Car and thus moved up from the last row to sixth place ahead of Lando Norris (7th/McLaren) and Gabriel Bortoleto, who secured eighth place in the Audi as the “Best of the Rest.” The last points went to Arvid Lindblad (9th/Racing Bulls) and Franco Colapinto (10th/Alpine).
Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) finished 13th, once again outside the points.
The most important points in brief:
Result: Race at Spa-Francorchamps
F1 2026 Championship Standings
Photos: 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
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F1 Show: Livestream on YouTube and Twitch (8 PM)
What happened at the start?
It was a turbulent start, where initially until turn 1 little happened, as both Antonelli and Verstappen had decent starts. Surprisingly, Antonelli slowed down before Eau Rouge and let Verstappen pass – a tactical maneuver?
Because this way, the Italian could slip past the Red Bull again in the slipstream on the long Kemmel straight to retake the lead. Behind them, Leclerc also passed Verstappen and took second place before Les Combes.
There, a consequential collision occurred behind them involving George Russell. The Mercedes driver touched Lewis Hamilton with his right rear wheel and spun off into the gravel trap – Hamilton was able to continue, Russell retired. Hamilton later received a 5-second penalty.
A few corners later, both Haas drivers touched each other, resulting in a tire damage for Esteban Ocon. The Frenchman went into the gravel trap at turn 14 but managed to get back to the pits and get new tires. After the turbulent start phase, the Safety Car had to be deployed first.
How did the fight for the win go?
Basically, it seemed like a clear case for Antonelli. After the Safety Car, the Mercedes driver kept his lead ahead of Verstappen but could not significantly extend his advantage. The Italian stayed always within two to three seconds until in lap 17 his team told him that his tires looked good and he could use them.
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Had he just managed the tires? At least Verstappen came in for a pit stop that lap to get the hard tires. Just moments later, the Virtual Safety Car was suddenly called to remove a part from the track.
Mercedes called Antonelli to the pits to respond to Verstappen, but just before the entry, the VSC was lifted again, so he ultimately could not gain a time advantage from it.
But fate was to turn: Only two laps later, another Virtual Safety Car came out, which Ferrari used for a double stop. The tactic worked: Because the competition had to slow down, Leclerc came back on track ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen.
And there, Leclerc initially gained time on the Mercedes because he passed Norris relatively quickly, who had not yet pitted, while Antonelli had quite some trouble getting rid of the McLaren. When Antonelli finally passed Norris in lap 26, Leclerc already had a three-second lead.
However, the Italian was able to use the pace of his Mercedes and creep closer to the Ferrari in the following laps. In lap 34, it was over for Leclerc: On the Kemmel straight, the Ferrari had no chance against his pursuer and had to give up.
Although Leclerc tried to keep up and counterattack, he was never close enough to really challenge for first place again.
Were there retirements?
Besides George Russell stranded in the gravel trap, other drivers also did not see the checkered flag. Quite early, Sergio Perez also parked his Cadillac in the pits due to a technical problem.
In lap 27, Lance Stroll’s race was also over: The Canadian also parked in the garage because his Aston Martin had a clutch problem. For Stroll, it was already the sixth retirement of the season in the tenth race.
What’s next at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix
At 8 PM, Kevin Scheuren and Stefan Ehlen will start their YouTube analysis to be finished just in time before the start of the championship final between Spain and Argentina. As always, channel members can ask their questions live. (Here’s the link to the Formel1.de YouTube channel!)
After Spa, the season continues directly with the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring (July 24 to 26). Then follows the summer break with three race-free weekends in a row. (Here’s the link to the 2026 Formula 1 calendar!)
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