By Will Heys
Six wins in ten races now for Kimi Antonelli this season following a closely contested Belgian Grand Prix denying Charles Leclerc another victory in the Ardennes.
The Italian now has a 50-point buffer to teammate and championship rival, George Russell who’s race lasted only 8 corners.
As the lights went out, Verstappen produced a stunning start taking the lead into Eau Rouge only moments after for it to be snatched back down the Kemmel Straight by pole sitter, Antonelli.
Russell, trying to recover from a poor start, spun into the gravel at Les Combes after contact with Hamilton bringing out the safety car.
Another chapter for a season that just is not going George’s way.
Hamilton was served a 5-second penalty for his part in the collision.
The safety car reshuffled the order as the race restarted on lap five with some drivers choosing to pit early on.
Isack Hadjar who had started 21st decided to take advantage by pitting once for mediums, and then again for hards a lap later, fulfilling the race requirement.
Piastri and the Ferraris were battling for third when Leclerc squeezed the Australian a little too much at the end of the Kemmel Straight damaging the McLaren.
A series of short Virtual Safety Cars followed due to debris and gravel on track.
Ferrari made sure to take advantage by double stacking their drivers.
Leclerc emerged back on to the circuit ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen to lead the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton served his 5 second penalty, but that was not the only problem, nearly running over his mechanic.
At the front, it looked like Ferrari’s race.
It wasn’t.
The Italian reeled in Leclerc at roughly half a second per lap, and on lap 34 completed the overtake for P1.
The gap remained at roughly a second for the remaining laps, but Antonelli crossed the line 1.9 seconds clear to take victory at Spa.
On the championship picture, he said: “The momentum was always there.
“It was just about getting the result.
“We were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship, but that’s why you’ve got to take every opportunity.”
Leclerc said: “There have been some five or six laps on the hard where I’ve been struggling with the front axle and then it came back a little bit.
“I feel better with the car there’s still some work to do, but surely it’s a step forward.”
Verstappen settled for third: “I think for us to be on the podium is very good.
“I gave it everything I had – P3 is good, good points to bring home.”
Further down the field, Isack Hadjar, from 21st, delivered a stellar performance.
The Frenchman carved through the field to finish sixth, somehow keeping a charging Lando Norris at bay on 42-lap-old hard tyres in the final stint.
Norris himself, starting 13th after his own grid penalty, recovered to seventh
Hamilton’s afternoon was eventful in all the wrong ways.
The five-second penalty for the Russell collision was one thing; accidentally nudging one of his own mechanics on release from the pit box was another.
Thankfully the mechanic was unhurt, but Ferrari face a post-race investigation for unsafe release.
He crossed the line fourth, ahead of Piastri.
Another good weekend for Audi and Gabriel Bortoleto.
He scored again for one of F1’s newest team in P8, a small but significant sign that the German outfit are finding their feet.
Great drives from Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto rounded out the top ten after a thrilling three-way battle with Gasly, Lawson, and Hülkenberg all within a second of the final point.
For Williams, Albon and Sainz finished 15th and 16th.
For Aston Martin, the Belgian weekend served up further embarrassment.
Telemetry from practice showed the AMR26 being outpaced through one section by not just Formula 2, but GT3 machinery too.
A damning illustration of how far Newey and the team must climb.
Antonelli heads to Hungary (the last race before the summer break) with a 50-point lead over Russell, and 45 over Hamilton.
He may not be 20 until next month, but he is driving like a seasoned champion.
WHEEL2WHEEL REPORTS 