Antonelli beats Leclerc at Spa and extends his championship lead

Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix, defeating Charles Leclerc in a fiercely contested race at Spa-Francorchamps. The Mercedes driver regained the lead after being overtaken by Max Verstappen at the start and managed the pressure superbly to take the chequered flag with a 1.9-second advantage over the Ferrari.

The race was notably shaped by George Russell’s retirement following an incident with Lewis Hamilton in the opening laps, which triggered the first safety car period. The Ferrari driver was handed a five-second penalty for the clash and was also placed under investigation for an unsafe release.

Leclerc finished second, underlining his excellent run of form following his victory at Silverstone, while Max Verstappen completed the podium after featuring in one of the race’s most intense battles during the opening laps. However, strategy calls and a Virtual Safety Car ultimately influenced the fight for victory, leaving the Dutchman third at the end of the 44 laps around Spa-Francorchamps.

Hamilton finished fourth, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar, and produced an impressive recovery drive after starting from the back of the grid.

With this result, Antonelli moves onto 204 points in the Drivers' Championship and extends his lead over Lewis Hamilton to 45 points, further strengthening his grip on the title fight with his sixth victory of the season. The Briton moves up to second in the standings, overtaking Russell.

Clasificación final

Este es el resultado final del Gran Premio de Bélgica:

Posición	Piloto	País	Equipo	Time
1	Kimi Antonelli		Mercedes	1:24:42.479
2	Charles Leclerc		Ferrari	+1.952s
3	Max Verstappen		Red Bull Racing	+11.586s
4	Lewis Hamilton		Ferrari	+17.245s
5	Oscar Piastri		McLaren	+18.988s
6	Isack Hadjar		Red bull Racing	+23.307s
7	Lando Norris		McLaren	+24.014s
8	Gabriel Bortoleto		Audi	+49.140s
9	Arvid Lindblad		Racing Bulls	+50.406s
10	Franco Colapinto		Alpine	+76.037s