Kimi Antonelli Beats Charles Leclerc to Win the Belgian Grand Prix

SPA, Belgium. Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix from pole on Sunday, passing Charles Leclerc of Ferrari with 10 laps left and holding on to win by 1.952 seconds at Spa-Francorchamps. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull Racing, his third podium of the season.

It was Antonelli's sixth win of 2026 and his first since Monaco. Mercedes teammate George Russell retired on the opening lap after contact with Lewis Hamilton.

"It's great to be back on the top step after obviously a few difficult rounds," Antonelli said. "Was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with a VSC but then we managed to make our way back. Was a tough win because Charles was quick and we had to hold onto that."

Russell out early

Verstappen made an excellent start and took the lead into Eau Rouge, but Antonelli used the pace of his Mercedes to take it back on the Kemmel Straight.

Russell lost speed and fell behind both Ferraris. When he tried to fight back at Turn 6, he made contact with Hamilton and was beached in the gravel, which brought out the Safety Car. Hamilton received a five-second penalty for causing the collision.

Antonelli restarted well at the start of Lap 5. Verstappen passed Leclerc for second and stayed about a second behind the leader.

A Virtual Safety Car swings the lead

Verstappen was the first frontrunner to pit, on Lap 18, and Antonelli covered him. A second Virtual Safety Car then let Ferrari pit both drivers more cheaply, and Leclerc came out ahead of Antonelli. Hamilton served his penalty during that stop and was later investigated for an unsafe release.

Lando Norris, who started 13th after a power unit grid penalty, briefly led on old hard tyres until Leclerc and Antonelli passed him. Antonelli then reeled Leclerc in and went past with 10 laps to go. Leclerc stayed within half a second at times but could not get back by.

Hadjar and Norris charge

Hamilton took fourth from Oscar Piastri in the final laps. Isack Hadjar started from the back of the grid after a power unit penalty and finished sixth, and Norris was seventh for McLaren.

Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Audi, and Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto completed the top 10 after a three-way fight that left Pierre Gasly, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg just outside the points.

Ollie Bearman was 14th for Haas, ahead of Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso. Lance Stroll retired with a suspected gearbox issue, and Sergio Perez retired his Cadillac with suspected suspension damage.

The paddock moves straight on to the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 24 to 26.

For more, see Formula 1's race report (opens in a new tab).

This was Round 10 of the 2026 season. It came after Charles Leclerc's British Grand Prix win and before Lando Norris' win in Hungary. For the full title picture, see our 2026 F1 standings breakdown.

Sources: Formula 1. More Formula 1 coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Richard Pardon / Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team