Kimi Antonelli took another important step in the fight for the 2026 Formula 1 title by winning the Belgian GP this Sunday. The Mercedes driver acknowledged that the result at Spa-Francorchamps was favored by the difficulties faced by his main championship rivals.
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With the victory, the Italian extended his lead at the top of the standings. The result was even more significant because George Russell retired from the race after an incident on the first lap, while Lewis Hamilton, who finished fourth, is still awaiting the outcome of a stewards’ investigation after the race.
The victory did not come without challenges for Antonelli. The nineteen-year-old lost the lead during a Virtual Safety Car period, a situation that benefited Charles Leclerc with a pit stop under favorable conditions.
Even so, the Mercedes driver managed to react and regained the lead after pressuring the Ferrari competitor. At the finish line, Antonelli crossed the line with a 1.9-second advantage over Leclerc, securing his first win since the Monaco GP and the sixth of his Formula 1 career.
After the race, Antonelli highlighted the importance of the result after some difficult rounds: “It’s great to be back on the top step of the podium after some tough races. It was a very competitive race. We lost the first position with the VSC, but we managed to recover it,” he said.
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The championship leader also praised the performance of the Ferrari rival: “It was a tough win because Charles was fast and we had to manage to stay ahead of him,” he said.
Despite the extended championship lead, Antonelli said he never felt he had lost pace in the title fight, even after facing two reliability issues throughout the season: “I think the momentum was always there. It was just a matter of getting the result,” he added.
Finally, the Italian admitted that the events at Spa ended up favoring his race: “Today we had a bit of luck regarding the championship, but that’s why you need to take every opportunity, because we saw how the situation can change very easily. We need to keep delivering results and we’ll see what happens at the end of the year,” he concluded.
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