Antonelli wins Belgian Grand Prix as Russell crashes out

Kimi Antonelli took a massive step toward securing the F1 World Championship by winning a dramatic 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, while his teammate and chief title rival, George Russell, crashed out on the opening lap.

Antonelli re-established the comfortable championship lead that had been eroded in the past three races with victory this victory.

He won the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 45 points over Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton on a bleak day for teammate George Russell, his closest title rival heading into the race.

The race turned dramatically on the opening lap when Antonelli's Mercedes teammate and closest championship rival, George Russell, was forced to retire after a collision with Lewis Hamilton.

Russell had been the 19-year-old Italian's closest rival before the race at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Briton spun off into the gravel on the opening lap after a collision with Hamilton while trying to make up places lost at the start.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was second in the 44-lap race, 1.952 seconds behind after leading thanks to a pitstop while a virtual safety car was deployed, with Max Verstappen third to give Red Bull their 300th Formula One podium.

Antonelli was first in qualifying for the race, continuing Mercedes' clean sweep of pole positions this season.

Hamilton finished fourth, despite serving a five-second penalty for the collision with Russell, but remained under investigation for an unsafe release from a pitstop that could drop him to fifth and further stretch Antonelli's lead.

It was his sixth win in 10 rounds this season, and it left him 50 points clear of Russell. 

Antonelli seemed entirely in control until a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was called around lap 20 to clear track debris.

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

With Russell scoring zero points, Lewis Hamilton provisionally climbs into second place in the Drivers' Championship on 159 points, dropping a distraught Russell down to third (154 points) while Antonelli sits comfortably on top with 204 points.

“It’s great to be back on the top step after a few difficult rounds," said Antonelli, who had drawn a blank in two of the past three rounds.

"It was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with the VSC but then we managed to make our way back.

"The momentum was always there. It was just about getting the results," he added. "Today we were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship but you have to take every opportunity because we saw how much it can swing."