F1 Belgian Grand Prix 2026 recap
Kimi Antonelli returns to winning ways with Belgian Grand Prix 2026 win
Kimi Antonelli picked up his sixth Formula One career win after winning the Belgian Grand Prix 2026, seeing off Charles Leclerc, who led the race for the majority of the middle part. Max Verstappen picked up his third podium of the season with a third place finish. For Mercedes, it was a mixed race as while Antonelli finished on the top step of the podium, his teammate George Russell suffered a lap 1 retirement after contact with Lewis Hamilton.
For Antonelli, not only was it his first win of the season since Monaco but also a big and crucial win in terms of the Drivers’ title race as Russell’s retirement gives Antonelli some breathing space in the title fight. Ferrari had a strong day with Leclerc’s second place and Hamilton’s fourth place, which saw them make up some ground in the Constructors’ championship.
Kimi Antonelli led off the line as the lights went out but it was Verstappen taking the lead momentarily going into Eau Rougge but Antonelli retook the lead at the Kemmel Straight while Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari stole P2 from Verstappen. Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell came together with Russell spinning at Les Combes and becoming the first retiree of the race, which brought out the Safety Car as Russell’s car was beached on the gravel. Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision. Racing resumed on lap five and while the top three were untouched it was Piastri and Hamilton involved in a spectacular move which saw Hamilton go inside Piastri at La Source to take fourth place but Piastri stunningly came back heading into Eau Rouge to retake the spot.
After battling for a couple of laps, Hamilton stormed past Piastri on the Kemmel Straight on lap 9 to take P4 with Piastri struggling following his contact with Charles Leclerc a lap before. By clearing Piastri, Hamilton was all over the back of his teammate, Charles Leclerc as the two Ferraris battled it out for the final podium place for the next couple of laps. By lap 15, Antonelli had built a gap of over two seconds to Verstappen while Leclerc was a further second behind the Red Bull star. Most of the midfield and lower grid drivers had gotten their opening pit stop out of the way by lap 10 but Isack Hadjar remained the only one in the top 10 to have pit. Verstappen was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 18 and he rejoined in sixth place ahead of his teammate. Race leader, Antonelli, came in for his stop on lap 19 and the only remaining Mercedes car rejoined in fifth place, just ahead of Verstappen. Leclerc meanwhile had taken the lead of the race with Hamilton and Piastri behind him and all three were yet to pit. There was a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) on lap 20 as the marshals were clearing debris from the track and under the VSC, Leclerc and Hamilton both pit with Leclerc coming out in second place, crucially ahead of Antonelli while Hamilton came out in sixth place. Lando Norris led the race but he was yet to pit.
Leclerc on fresher tyres eased past Norris on lap 22. Norris lost second place to Antonelli as well a couple of laps later and instantly pulled out a gap to Norris. By lap 28, Norris was being charged by Verstappen and the Red Bull driver went around the outside of Norris at Les Combes to take the third spot. On the fringes of the points, Franco Colapinto was making moves and the Alpine driver put in a stunning double overtake moving into Les Combes, going past teammate Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson to move into P10. Norris pitted on lap 30 and a slow stop from the McLaren garage meant that he came out in P8, almost 20 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton in P5. Up ahead, Antonelli was getting closer to Leclerc and on lap 34 Antonelli retook the lead of the race sweeping past Leclerc with 10 laps to go.
While Leclerc lost his place, his teammate, Lewis Hamilton was making up places and he passed Piastri on the outside at Les Combes to move into fourth place. As the race entered its final few laps, Antonelli kept a sufficient gap to Leclerc to eventually take the race win while Verstappen saw off Hamilton to finish on the podium. Oscar Piastri finished fifth ahead of Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto who rounded out the points places. Antonelli’s win sees him extend his championship lead to 45 points with Hamilton moving into second place in the Drivers’ standing, going past Russell, who is now 50 points behind his teammate.
Racing will be back next weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix which will be the final race before the grid heads for a month-long summer break.
