Kimi Antonelli on Track to Win the World Championship, Capitalizing on George Russell’s Exit and Dodging FIA Hurdles

Kimi Antonelli has taken a giant step toward winning this season’s Formula 1 World Championship. The Italian driver has been crowned at the temple of Spa-Francorchamps, clawing back after a FIA ploy that adjusted Ferrari’s strategy and put Charles Leclerc in the lead with a controversial virtual safety car.

George Russell, Antonelli’s teammate and his main rival, had to retire after contact with Lewis Hamilton at the start, leaving him stranded in the gravel. Hamilton also had to serve a penalty, so Antonelli again escapes decisively to the front of this championship.

Verstappen saves the podium despite two highly controversial VSCs that hurt him

Italy isn’t going to win the Football World Cup, in which it didn’t even participate, but has a good consolation in Formula 1. Kimi Antonelli has prevailed at Spa-Francorchamps and is on the way to his first championship title. The Italian teenager has recovered from a rather peculiar setback imposed by the FIA.

Antonelli had the race fairly under control, but just after the pit stops a virtual safety car came out as some marshals entered the track to remove parts at that very moment. A tailor-made opportunity for Ferrari, which entered with both cars and put Leclerc at the head of the race, even though prior to this he was third.

The second stretch of the race saw Antonelli closing in on Leclerc until he finally managed to overtake him in the final laps and go on to win again after three races without victory. Antonelli’s lead in the standings rises from 25 to 45 points, as his rivals sacrificed themselves along the way.

George Russell had to retire on the first lap due to a clash with Lewis Hamilton, which also cost the Ferrari driver a five-second penalty. So Hamilton could only finish fourth, and thanks to overtaking Oscar Piastri in the final laps. After his Barcelona victory, Hamilton has returned to the path of incidents.

The podium is completed by a Max Verstappen heavily disadvantaged. First the FIA deployed a virtual Safety Car just after his pit stop, preventing him from taking advantage of the new tires to launch an undercut. Then the second virtual safety car allowed Leclerc to pass him artificially, relegating Verstappen to third place.

Isack Hadjar also took advantage of the race interruptions to climb from the back of the grid to sixth, even ahead of a Lando Norris who started on the hard tyre hoping for a calm race, and ended up being the big casualty of the chaos. At least he takes the fastest lap.

Huge performance by Gabriel Bortoleto, who matches Audi’s best result in Formula 1 with eighth place. The German team is already closing in on Williams in the constructors’ standings. Ninth was rookie Arvid Lindblad with Racing Bulls, while Franco Colapinto clinched the last point, narrowly beating Pierre Gasly at the end.

As for the Spaniards, another tough race. Carlos Sainz had to deal with rear-end problems of his Williams, finishing sixteenth, while Fernando Alonso ended up last, as expected, and being the only driver lapped twice. If Spain wants a morale boost today, it will have to come in football.

Belgian Grand Prix 2026 Formula 1 race results

Formula 1 Standings

1st. KIMI ANTONELLI (Mercedes-ITA), 204 points

2nd. LEWIS HAMILTON (Ferrari-GBR), 159 points

3rd. GEORGE RUSSELL (Mercedes-GBR), 154 points

4th. CHARLES LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 126 points

5th. LANDO NORRIS (McLaren-GBR), 103 points

Imágenes | McLaren, Fórmula 1