Kimi Antonelli hunts down Charles Leclerc to win Belgian GP after George Russell disaster

Kimi Antonelli took a big step towards winning the F1 world championship after hunting down Charles Leclerc to win the Belgian Grand Prix, after disaster struck team-mate George Russell. 

Russell was eliminated in a first-lap incident involving contact with Lewis Hamilton, for which he took a five-second time penalty, handing Antonelli a chance to open up the 25-point lead he held over Russell going into the race.

The Mercedes completed its sole pit-stop at the end of Lap 18, before Leclerc was then able to pit under a Virtual Safety Car for debris on Lap 20 and emerge in the lead. 

After finally passing the McLaren of Lando Norris which had yet to pit, Antonelli closed up on Leclerc, and powered past into the Les Combes chicane on Lap 34. 

The victory gives Antonelli a 50-point advantage over Russell, with Leclerc, who held gamely onto the Italian after being passed, taking second place.

Third went to Max Verstappen of Red Bull, with Hamilton taking fourth on the road, but is facing a post-race investigation for an unsafe release from his pit-stop in which he hit a mechanic. 

Hamilton provisionally moves to second in the drivers' standings on 159 points to Antonelli's 204. Russell remains on 154 points.

At the start, from second on the grid, Verstappen powered past Antonelli on the run to Eau Rouge to grab the lead, although the Mercedes quickly re-passed on the run to Les Combes, where Russell's race was to end.

After being passed by multiple cars on the straight, Russell attempted to move around the outside of Hamilton, who clipped the Mercedes and spun it into the gravel, whilst handing the Ferrari significant damage on the left-hand side of the car.

Although both drivers felt it was a racing incident, Hamilton was handed a five-second time penalty by the stewards.

After the safety car restart, the top five of Antonelli, Leclerc, Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Hamilton mounted a break-away, with Leclerc surviving an investigation from the stewards for squeezing Piastri into the Les Combes braking zone, with the two making major contact.

On Lap 17, Verstappen pitted, with Antonelli covering next time by as Leclerc and Hamilton ran long, and got the virtual safety car they were hoping for on Lap 20, with both pitting. 

Hamilton served his five-second Russell penalty but was placed under investigation post-race for leaving early and hitting a mechanic, who was uninjured. 

Leclerc emerged ahead of Antonelli, with Norris, who had started on the hards taking the lead, but was quickly passed by Leclerc as Antonelli could not get past.

Antonelli did so on Lap 26, and faced a three-second gap to Leclerc, and by Lap 34, passed him for the lead, with Leclerc staying within striking distance, but was overcome.

Verstappen took a lonely third for Red Bull, with Hamilton passing Piastri late on for fourth on the road before his investigation, with Hadjar stalling Norris's charge after his pit-stop as they took sixth and seventh. 

Gabriel Bortoleto equalled Audi's best-ever F1 result in eighth, with Arvid Lindblad and Franco Colapinto rounding out the points scorers.

Pierre Gasly was the first non-points scorer in 11th, with Liam Lawson in 12th, after an investigation into an incident with team-mate Lindblad at Les Combes when both drivers went off track whilst battling after Lindblad exited the pits.

Nico Hulkenberg, Oliver Bearman, Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, and Fernando Alonso were the remaining finishers.

There were three non-finishers, with Lance Stroll stopping the Aston Martin due to a potential gearbox issue, Sergio Perez's retiring for Cadillac after reporting his suspension was broken and Russell's Mercedes.