Andrea Kimi Antonelli produced a masterful drive at Spa-Francorchamps to win the Belgian Grand Prix, passing Charles Leclerc in a decisive overtake on lap 34 that extended his championship lead to 50 points after title rival George Russell was eliminated on the opening lap.
The Mercedes driver converted his sixth pole position of the season into a sixth victory in commanding fashion, but it was far from straightforward. After seeing off an early challenge from Max Verstappen's Red Bull, Antonelli found himself behind Leclerc when Ferrari capitalised on a Virtual Safety Car period to bring the Monegasque in for a cut-price pit stop.
Leclerc led the race through the middle stint, but Antonelli never lost touch. On lap 34, he swept around the outside of the Ferrari at the Kemmel Straight — the same corner where Russell's race had ended at the start — to reclaim the lead. From there, he managed his tyres superbly to hold off a late Leclerc resurgence and take the chequered flag.
"I had to work for that one," Antonelli said post-race. "Charles drove a fantastic race and Ferrari played the strategy well. But the car was strong and I believed we could get it done."
The victory marks Antonelli's first since the Monaco Grand Prix four races ago, ending a brief winless run for the Italian teenager. More significantly, it delivers a hammer blow to Russell's title aspirations. The Briton was taken out on the opening lap when attempting to pass Lewis Hamilton around the outside at Les Combes, leaving him beached in the gravel and out of the race.
Verstappen completed the podium in third, unable to match the pace of the Mercedes and Ferrari. Hamilton recovered from a five-second time penalty for the Russell collision to finish fourth ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, though Ferrari face a post-race investigation over an unsafe release after Hamilton accidentally struck a mechanic during his pit stop. The team confirmed the mechanic was unhurt.
Isack Hadjar delivered the drive of the day, recovering from the back of the grid to take sixth, holding off a charging Lando Norris. Gabriel Bortoleto scored solid points for Audi in eighth, while Franco Colapinto claimed the final point for Alpine in tenth.
With six wins from six poles, Antonelli now holds a commanding 50-point margin at the top of the standings with eight rounds remaining.
Sources
- https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/1101480/1/kimi-antonelli-passes-charles-leclerc-f1-belgian-gp-win-george-russell
- https://www.crash.net/f1/news/1101499/1/ferrari-condemns-harsh-lewis-hamilton-penalty-f1-belgian-gp
