Antonelli wins to extend lead after Russell crashes out

July 19, 2026 No Comments

Antonelli wins to extend lead after Russell crashes outImage source, EPAImage caption, Kimi Antonelli’s victory in Belgium was his sixth grand prix winByAndrew Benson

F1 Correspondent at Spa-Francorchamps

5 minutes ago

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli re-established the comfortable championship lead that had been eroded in the past three races with victory in the Belgian Grand Prix while team-mate George Russell crashed out.

The Italian fought back from a delay caused by a virtual safety-car period to catch and pass Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for his sixth win in 10 races this season.

Russell, meanwhile, was taken out in a collision with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap and has dropped to third place in the standings, 50 points behind Antonelli.

Hamilton was re-promoted to second place in the championship, three points ahead of Russell with a fourth-place finish.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took the final podium place.

The key stories of a surprisingly compelling race were:

More bad luck for Russell as the gains he had made in recent races were wiped out within seconds of the start
The virtual safety car that gave Leclerc an unexpected shot at a second consecutive victory
The VSC also affecting Lando Norris, who had been looking set for a podium challenge after a penalty left him 13th on the grid

More to follow