Antonelli near-perfect but too much drama for Hamilton – driver ratings

Antonelli near-perfect but too much drama for Hamilton – driver ratingsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship by 45 points from Lewis Hamilton ByHarry BenjaminBBC Radio 5 Live F1 commentatorPublished58 minutes agoChampionship leader Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix with victory from pole position at Spa-Francorchamps. The Mercedes driver is now 45 points clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at the top of the standings after team-mate George Russell was involved in a collision with Hamilton, who finished fourth, on the opening lap. Russell falls to third in the championship, 50 points adrift of Antonelli. Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Belgium.Kimi Antonelli – 9.5/10A near-perfect weekend from Mercedes’ championship leader. Topped two out of the three practice sessions and delivered pole position by more than three-tenths of a second. Recovered from an unfortunately timed virtual safety car to pass Charles Leclerc and win.Charles Leclerc – 8.5/10Maximised what Ferrari had and came closer than anyone to denying Antonelli the race win. Benefited from the virtual safety car but kept the Mercedes driver honest after losing the lead, although the contact with Oscar Piastri was an untidy moment.Max Verstappen – 8/10A brilliant start briefly put him into the lead and he comfortably secured another podium for Red Bull. Qualified on the front row and drove a strong race, but ultimately couldn’t match Antonelli when it mattered.Lewis Hamilton – 6/10Plenty of pace but far too much drama. Recovered from his heavy final-practice crash and the penalty for hitting George Russell to finish fourth, but an overall messy Sunday prevented this from being rated as a strong weekend.Oscar Piastri – 6.5/10Had damage after the contact with Leclerc but remained in the fight and brought home a useful fifth place. Losing fourth to Hamilton late on capped a weekend in which he never quite looked as comfortable as McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.Isack Hadjar – 9/10One of the drives of the race. Charged from 21st on the grid to sixth with an aggressive strategy and held off Norris at the finish to secure a huge result for Red Bull.Lando Norris – 7.5/10Qualifying third showed the McLaren had real pace, although his final Q3 mistake cost him the chance to challenge Antonelli. Recovered well from his grid penalty but a long first stint and slow pit stop left him just short of Hadjar.Gabriel Bortoleto – 8/10Another excellent weekend for the Audi driver. Reached Q3, stayed out of trouble and converted eighth on the grid into a second consecutive points finish.Arvid Lindblad – 7.5/10A strong qualifying performance put him eighth and he delivered another mature drive into the points. Racing Bulls had one of the quickest midfield cars, but Lindblad still had to hold his nerve to make the most of it.Franco Colapinto – 8/10Excellent work to claim the final point. Produced a decisive move during the three-way battle with Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson and once again got the better of his more experienced Alpine team-mate.Antonelli wins to extend lead after Russell crashes out