The Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has culminated an exciting Belgian GP with a victory after overtaking Charles Leclerc, while his teammate at Mercedes, George Russell, was forced to retire on the first lap after an incident with Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli temporarily lost the lead to Max Verstappen as he exited La Source, but quickly regained positions on the Kemmel Straight, thus consolidating his leadership in the first minutes of the race.
Antonelli’s switch to hard tires occurred two laps before a virtual safety car (VSC) came into play on lap 20, allowing Ferrari to make economical stops. Leclerc took this opportunity to switch to hard tires and stayed in the lead.
After overtaking Lando Norris, who had started on hard tires, Leclerc gained a slight advantage. Antonelli, with a strong pace, began to close the gap, especially after Leclerc found himself obstructed by Valtteri Bottas on the Spa-Francorchamps layout.
In the following laps, Antonelli maintained his advantage, finishing the race 1.9 seconds ahead of Leclerc, thus extending his championship lead, while Russell scored no points after his retirement.
Russell had a challenging race start; after running out of battery on the Kemmel Straight, he made contact with Hamilton, leading him to get stuck in the gravel. Verstappen finished third, after being passed by Leclerc during the stops.
Hamilton secured fourth place despite a five-second penalty for the incident with Russell. The English driver passed Oscar Piastri, who, despite minor damage to his car, managed to stay ahead of Hamilton.
Isack Hadjar climbed to sixth place after taking advantage of the VSC, while Lando Norris fought to recover positions after a slow stop. Gabriel Bortoleto finished in eighth place, and Franco Colapinto surprised with a double overtake on Pierre Gasly and Lawson to take the last available point.
This race has confirmed Kimi Antonelli’s remarkable performance, who, with six victories this season, proves to be a serious contender in the championship race.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
