Kimi Antonelli returned to glory with victory at a closely contested Belgian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as Max Verstappen settled for his third podium of the season in P3.
The Dutchman got off to a sublime start as he stormed past Antonelli on the opening lap at Eau Rouge, but couldn’t quite stay ahead of the Mercedes driver and quickly gave up the lead.
While Antonelli clung on at the front, there was heartbreak for his team mate who fell behind both Ferrari’s and made early contact with Lewis Hamilton, spinning George Russell into the gravel and bringing his race to an end, with far-reaching implications in the title battle.
The Italian resisted the pressure of a Safety Car restart as well as a late challenge from Leclerc after retaking the lead to take the chequered flag by 1.9s, securing his sixth race win of the 2026 season and first since the Monaco Grand Prix.
The full top 10 are- P1: Antonelli, P2: Leclerc, P3: Verstappen, P4: Hamilton, P5: Piastri, P6: Hadjar, P7: Norris, P8: Bortoleto, P9: Lindblad and P10: Colapinto.
What a result for Antonelli! This weekend is exactly what he needed, his first win since Monaco – it was his to run away with when the first Free Practice started and he kept it cool all weekend.
As for his teammate, another weekend to forget – DNF for Russell and on the first lap too, he will be waiting for the summer break to come along quicker than anything!
P2 for Leclerc! Another great result for the Monegasque – his turned a corner and something’s switched in him this year and he is getting these great results and consistently too – a shame he couldn’t get the win.
As for Hamilton P4! A pretty decent result considering everything which was thrown at him – if he didn’t get the 5 second time penalty it might’ve been a podium but still a great result.
Third for Verstappen, a great result for him – much better than Silverstone which he will be happy with! He will be looking to replicate that at the Hungarian Grand Prix. As for his teammate, a great race for Hadjar, from starting at the back to getting all the way to 6th a great result for him.
5th and 7th for the McLaren’s not amazing but still a decent result – especially with Norris having his penalty.
P9 for Lindblad, another race in the points and as well for Colapinto in 10th!
As for the next race weekend, it’ not long as we head to Hungary for Round 11 this weekend and our last before summer break!
It’s great to be back on the top step after obviously a few difficult rounds. Was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with a VSC but then we managed to make our way back. Was a tough win because Charles was quick and we had to hold onto that.
Antonelli on the win.
Jordan's Track Talk 
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