Antonelli gets big title boost with Belgian Grand Prix victory

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Kimi Antonelli always believed he had the momentum in the Formula One title race, even when results didn't go his way. He made it count with a dominant win Sunday, as his Mercedes teammate and title rival George Russell failed to finish.

It was Antonelli's sixth win of the season and came from his sixth pole of the year, the first driver to win from pole in Belgium since 2021.

It lifts him to 204 points in the championship, 45 clear of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton with Russell third on 154.

"It feels very nice to be back on the top step," said Antonelli.

"We just have to keep performing, keep bringing the results and then we will see what will happen at the end of the year."

Antonelli saw off a challenge from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to get back to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix, after reliability issues had allowed Russell to whittle down his lead in recent weeks.

Antonelli started on pole but lost the lead to Leclerc when a virtual safety car slowdown allowed the Ferrari driver to save time during his pit stop.

Antonelli sped back past Leclerc with 10 laps remaining and cruised from there to his first win since last month's Monaco Grand Prix, keeping the 19-year-old firmly on target to become Formula One's youngest-ever champion.

"The momentum has always been there, despite what happened in the previous races, and that's why you just need to take one weekend at a time, because you never know what can happen," Antonelli said.

"With these new cars, new regs, there's so much going on and so much is unpredictable."

Antonelli is now all-time joint-second among Italian Formula One drivers, behind only Alberto Ascari, a 13-time Grand Prix winner and two-time champion in the early 1950s.

In a marker-pen message on a champagne bottle, Antonelli dedicated the win to his father, former sportscar racer Marco Antonelli, whose birthday was on Saturday.

Leclerc strong again

Leclerc was second after avoiding a penalty for a collision that damaged Oscar Piastri's McLaren, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third after briefly taking, then losing, the lead from Antonelli on a hectic opening lap.

The Italian stretched his standings lead after Russell was left stuck in the gravel on the first lap after being pushed into a spin by Hamilton's Ferrari.

In a sign of tension at Mercedes, and after taking a heavy blow to his title chances, Russell seemed to blame his car, rather than Hamilton, for the incident, which he said wouldn't have happened if his car hadn't lost speed on the straight when going into the corner, dropping him behind Hamilton.

"I made a great first corner and I was tucked up right behind Verstappen, but for whatever reason the battery decided not to recharge at Turn One," he explained.

"I got swamped by three cars and I shouldn't have been in that position in the first place, and that is why I am most angry. The incident with Lewis was a racing incident. He didn't do it on purpose."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested it was a software problem affecting multiple cars with Mercedes engines.

Hamilton not at fault

Hamilton was fourth after an eventful race, including a five-second penalty for the collision with Russell, verbal spats with Ferrari over strategy and car setups over the radio, and knocking over a Ferrari mechanic as his car started to leave the pits.

Hamilton immediately asked after the team member's condition and was told he was OK.

A post-race inquiry by the stewards found Hamilton was "in no respect at fault", and fined Ferrari 30,000 euros ($34,300), with 10,000 euros of that suspended for a year.

"I am just grateful my mechanic didn't get hurt," Hamilton told reporters.

"I am looking at the lights, and I am supposed to go when the car is dropping. So, I went, and then I saw him to my right and stopped as soon as I could.

"All I could think about at the time was when Kimi (Raikkonen) did a leg, and that is what I thought (had happened) initially, but he got up and moved."

Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren and Isack Hadjar was a strong sixth for Red Bull, despite starting at the back of the field because of a penalty.

Lando Norris started 13th for McLaren thanks to a grid penalty, but sliced through the field and even briefly led the race when others pitted. A pit stop delay dropped him back but he still finished seventh.

Gabriel Bortoleto placed eighth for Audi, Arvid Lindblad ninth for Racing Bulls and Alpine's Franco Colapinto took the final point in 10th.

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