Andrea Kimi Antonelli took his sixth Formula 1 win of the season at Spa-Francorchamps, after seeing off all challenges in a thrilling Belgian Grand Prix.
Antonelli converted his sixth pole position of 2026 into a sixth win as the Mercedes driver staved off a resolute Charles Leclerc to the chequered flag after the 44-lap race.
Leclerc followed the Italian home in second, with the Ferrari driver just coming short to make it back-to-back wins. Benefitting from a VSC, Leclerc had managed to jump Antonelli to the lead, but the Mercedes was more than a match for his SF-26 across the 7.004-km-long circuit.
Max Verstappen bounced back from his Silverstone woes to round off the podium after a spirited drive in his RB22.
Antonelli’s title credentials were further increased by teammate George Russell being pitched into retirement on Lap 1, after a collision with Lewis Hamilton, who received a five-second penalty, relegating him to fourth, with the threat of another penalty still to be decided.
How the race unfolded
With grey clouds threatening the tarmac around the Spa, pole-sitter Antonelli squirted off the line and kept his lead out of La Source.
Verstappen, who knew he had to get the Mercedes on the first lap, made a daring move around the outside of Eau Rouge on Antonelli.
Meanwhile Leclerc showed better reactions than Russell and kept pinned to his gearbox through the Kemmel straight. By the time the leading pack arrived at Les Combes, both Antonelli and Leclerc had jumped Verstappen.
While Antonelli regained his lead, his team-mate, Russell’s afternoon came to an end after being collected by the Ferrari of Hamilton at Les Combes; The Briton’s beached W17 calling Bernd Maylander into action on Lap 3.
The Lap 1 melee allowed Norris get back into the points in 10th, with Bortoleto, Colapinto and the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson making up the top 10.
At the Safety Car restart, on Lap 5, Antonelli led Leclerc, followed by Verstappen, Piastri and Hamilton.
The first lap melee had allowed Norris get back into the points in 10th, with the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson, Colapinto and Bortoleto completing the top 10.
By Lap 6, Verstappen had made his move on Leclerc, getting himself into second place. The following lap, the Red Bull driver started closing his gap to Antonelli for the race lead.
The final podium place was firmly in sight for Piastri, sandwiched between the Ferraris of Hamilton (in fifth) and Leclerc (in third). The top five were now separated by only three seconds.
The Australian tried getting his elbows out on Lap 8, hanging round the outside of Leclerc on the entry to Les Combes. But the Ferrari driver had that door shut, trading blows with the MCL40 and keeping third place for him.
On the following lap, Piastri, who suffered floor damage during his scrap with Leclerc, also lost fourth place to the other Ferrari of Hamilton.
That said, the seven-time World Champion, who had been put under investigation for his Lap 1 incident with Russell, was handed a five-second time penalty by the stewards.
Leclerc had rocked back up to the back of Verstappen, on Lap 11, while Antonelli stretched his lead to two seconds over the squabbling duo – with Hamilton joining the party soon on the following lap.
Meanwhile Norris had climbed up to sixth, finally making a move stick on the resilient Racing Bulls of Lindblad.
With an impending penalty to serve when he comes into the pits, Hamilton launched an onslaught on Leclerc but it came to no avail against his team-mate’s stern defence. Finally, the Briton appealed the pit-wall to deploy team orders, “I’m quicker than Charles”.
Hadjar, by Lap 16, had gotten himself into eighth as Antonelli’s lead over Verstappen stabilised to two-and-a-half seconds.
Red Bull pulled the trigger, calling Verstappen into the pits, from second, on Lap 18, with the Dutchman rejoining the race in sixth. Race-leader Antonelli pulled into the pit lane on the following lap, reacting to Red Bull. Leclerc stayed out, assuming the lead of the 44-lap race.
The VSC was called out for a Marshal clearing debris on track, on Lap 20 with Ferrari choosing to capitalise, calling Hamilton and Leclerc in.
The iconic Italian marque double-stacked its drivers, with Leclerc coming out in second, jumping Antonelli under the VSC, and Hamilton, after serving his five-second penalty rejoining the track in sixth.
Halfway through the race, Norris, who was yet to pit having started on the Hards, led the Belgian GP, followed by Leclerc, Antonelli, Verstappen and Piastri.
Hamilton struggles as Leclerc seeks to make to back-to-back wins
Norris’ time leading the race was short-lived with Leclerc on brand-new Hards rocketing past the McLaren on the Kemmel straight on Lap 23. The Monegasque was still riding high on the waves of his Silverstone triumph from two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was not having a nice afternoon in his SF-26. After being disappointed in the strategy the team had dealt him, he learned on Lap 25 that his requested front-wing adjustment was not carried out during the pit stop.
“Yeah, I can’t turn, so…,” lamented the Briton.
To add insult to injury, the Briton was put under investigation for an unsafe release after running over one of his pit-crew during his stop.
Antonelli got the reigning F1 World Champion, on Lap 26, and was on his way to challenge Leclerc for the race win. By this time, however, Leclerc, in free air, had carved out a handy three second lead over the Italian.
Verstappen reported his Hard compound tyres were “not working”, after having complained of having no grip post his pit stop. Not only did this hamper the Red Bull driver’s chances to catch Norris for third, but also put the Briton’s McLaren team-mate right on his gearbox.
Despite his tyre troubles, Verstappen tried his move down the inside of Norris into Les Combes, but went wide on the exit. That said, the 28-year-old was able to stave off his 2025 championship rival, into Malmedy, to move into P3 on Lap 29.
With Piasti now right on the tail of Norris, McLaren came onto the team radio comms to advise its drivers to not waste their batteries fighting each other.
Meanwhile, Colapinto rolled down the years with a Hakkinen-esque double move on Lawson and team-mate Gasly, into Les Combes, to move into 10th.
Antonelli makes it six in 2026 after Belgian GP win
Norris finally pitted on Lap 31, but a slow stop meant the McLaren driver rejoined the race all the way down in eighth – undoing all the good work on his first stint.
In the lead, Leclerc was suffering from “harsh” downshifts, especially out of La Source, allowing Antonelli to close his gap to the Monegasque to just over a second, on Lap 32.
On the very next lap, the Mercedes driver was on the gearbox of the Ferrari, and by Lap 34, Antonelli was back in the lead.
With seven laps to go, Leclerc kept himself within a second of Antonelli, while the duo of Hamilton and Piastri began their charge towards third-placed Verstappen for the final podium place.
Hamilton, meanwhile, got himself ahead of Piastri into fourth. But an impending post-race investigation for an unsafe release, Piastri was advised to remain within five seconds of the Ferrari at the chequered flag.
As Leclerc kept badgering the Mercedes for the lead, Antonelli got a warning by the pit wall to look out for track limits. With two strikes already to his name, the Italian could ill-afford any more with the chequered flag just in sight.
Antonelli did keep his head, taking the chequered flag to win for the first time this season, since Monaco. Leclerc followed him in second with Verstappen taking third for Red Bull after the 44-lap race.
READ MORE – F1 2026 Belgian Grand Prix – Race Results
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