Antonelli beats Leclerc to win Belgian Grand Prix as Russell retires on opening lap

Antonelli controls Spa fight after strategic swing

Kimi Antonelli converted Mercedes’ pace into victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, passing Charles Leclerc late in the race to secure a 1.9-second win. The result extended the Italian’s championship lead, while Mercedes team-mate George Russell retired on the opening lap after contact with Lewis Hamilton.

Max Verstappen briefly seized the lead from the front row at La Source, but Antonelli responded on the Kemmel Straight and quickly restored Mercedes’ control. The race then turned on the pit-stop timing, with Ferrari gaining a major advantage when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap 20 to clear debris at Blanchimont.

Antonelli had switched to the hard tyre two laps earlier. Ferrari used the VSC window to pit both cars at a lower cost, allowing Leclerc to cycle into the lead ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen. Leclerc then built a gap while clearing Lando Norris, who had started on the hard tyre and was yet to stop.

The strategic complexion of the race was shaped by the kind of pit-window opportunity examined in our Belgian Grand Prix strategy guide. Norris’s alternative approach briefly created a buffer for Leclerc, but Antonelli’s pace kept the fight alive.

Antonelli finds the decisive pass

Once Antonelli had cleared Norris, the gap to Leclerc was approximately three seconds. The Mercedes driver closed rapidly, aided when Leclerc was baulked by Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac through Turn 15. Antonelli stayed close through the following section before making the decisive move at Turn 5, breaking past after stalking the Ferrari uphill.

Leclerc remained within overtaking range for several laps, but could not produce a second attack. Antonelli managed the advantage with enough pace to move beyond the one-second threshold and prevent a sustained fightback.

Russell’s early retirement reshapes the result

Russell’s race ended before the completion of lap one. While battling Leclerc through the opening corners, he ran out of battery halfway along the Kemmel Straight and was swallowed by the surrounding cars on the approach to Les Combes. He was alongside Hamilton when the Ferrari suffered a snap of oversteer, resulting in contact that pitched Russell into the gravel.

Verstappen finished third, having lost ground after being overtaken by Leclerc during the VSC pit stops. Hamilton took fourth despite a five-second penalty for the Russell contact, while a further unsafe-release investigation remained possible. Oscar Piastri finished fifth after earlier contact with Leclerc caused minor damage and reduced his pace.

Isack Hadjar was sixth, ahead of Norris, Gabriel Bortoleto, Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto. Colapinto secured the final point with a two-for-one pass on Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson along the Kemmel Straight.