Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli clinched his sixth victory in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship after 10 rounds on Sunday at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
"It was a hard-fought win and didn’t come easily. We lost the lead on the run to Eau Rouge but got it back on the opening lap," the Italian outlined after the race.
"We looked in control but then lost it again when Leclerc was able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. We kept calm though and slowly closed the gap. He was very quick, and even after I passed him, it was a struggle to break overtake mode.
"We eventually did though and could bring the win home."
In the lead-up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, the second leg of the final doubleheader before the summer shutdown, the 19-year-old delivered another consistent performance to claim his sixth triumph in F1.
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen got away cleanly from P2, overtaking the Mercedes driver into Turn 2.
Despite suffering from a lack of boost affecting power on the opening lap, the Italian, who started on pole at the Belgian Grand Prix, recovered quickly, regaining P1 on the Kemmel Straight.
According to Mercedes, teammate George Russell experienced the same issue, which cost him speed on the run out of Turn 1, but his race ended early in a DNF, regardless.
The Dutchman and the British driver were both overtaken by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who took over second place.
Then, Russell clashed with Scuderia Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, ending up in the gravel, which brought out the Safety Car.
The 28-year-old arrived at Spa holding second place in the drivers' standings, but after the race at Spa he was demoted to third, 50 points behind Antonelli.
"I made a good start and was in a decent position to fight for the lead but didn’t have the speed we expected on the run to Turn 5. I was overtaken by several cars behind, and the incident with Lewis (Hamilton) followed," Russell explained afterward.
Meanwhile, the seven-time world champion escaped with minor damage to the car, which allowed him to continue the race with a 5-second penalty to be served at his pit stop, handed by the stewards.
On lap five, Verstappen recovered lost ground and overtook the Monegasque driver, who two weeks ago clinched his first win of the season at Silverstone.
At that time, Antonelli ran first, Verstappen second and Leclerc third.
On lap 19, a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear debris from the track, opening a window of opportunity for teams and drivers.
Ferrari did not hesitate to call both cars to pit for Hard tires; the strategy suited the men from Maranello like a glove.
Leclerc rejoined the track ahead of Antonelli and Verstappen, securing second place, while Hamilton returned in sixth place after also serving his penalty.
At that time, the McLaren of Lando Norris, yet to make his second pit stop, led the Grand Prix.
On lap 23, Leclerc got past Norris back at the top, and just three laps later, the young Italian moved past the reigning Formula One champion.
From there, Antonelli fought back to erase a three-second gap, eventually reclaiming first place on lap 34.
Steadily, he pulled away to cross the finish line, claiming his sixth win of the season on a Medium-Hard one-stop strategy.
Leclerc and Verstappen completed the podium in second and third, respectively.
"The Virtual Safety Car helped to put us in contention for the win, and it was really enjoyable to lead the race and fight for that position until the closing laps, even if it was down to a bit of luck on our side," Leclerc stressed.
"Overall, we had good pace, which is something we didn't expect on a track such as Spa-Francorchamps."
The local favorite overtook Norris with a brilliant manoeuvre, notching his 130th career podium in Formula 1, his third this season, and the 300th podium finish in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.
"Everything was quite straightforward; the car was straight away in a decent window. In that respect, it was quite a normal weekend, which is a positive," Verstappen said. "I tried everything I could during the race. The first stint wasn't too bad. The second stint was a little bit worse."
Adding: "In the end, we're on the podium, so we can't complain too much. To be on the podium here is a very good result for us. I gave everything I had, and P3 is a good result.”
Hamilton finished a few seconds behind Verstappen in fourth while Oscar Piastri took the checkered flag fifth.
The Championship
With the triumph, Antonelli extended his drivers' championship lead to 45 points (204 overall). Hamilton moved to second place in the overall standings on a 159-point tally.
"We saw how competitive several teams were again today. We need to keep working hard, keep performing, and keep scoring points," the Bologna-born added.
"It’s going to be a long battle all the way to the end of the season. We will keep taking it one weekend at a time and try to do our best every time we get in the car."
Highlights
Verstappen's teammate Isack Hadjar produced a stellar comeback on Sunday.
The Frenchman gained 15 positions in the race as he started from the back row due to a 10-place grid penalty for allocating additional PU elements, and ended in sixth place.
Next, the pinnacle of motorsport heads to Budapest for the eleventh round of an eventful season.