Antonelli doesn’t give up. And wins with grit.

Italians are torn between cheering for Ferrari or for Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver, however, remains ahead and once again defeated the Maranello squad. In Spa, he started on pole, dropped to 3rd, recovered, and claimed his 6th victory of the year, increasing his lead in the 2026 Formula 1 World Championship. Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen completed the trio on the podium. Three different teams and three different engines. Gabriel Bortoleto, with a great race, finished in 8th and scored 4 more points. The next F1 round will be the Hungarian GP, next Sunday (July 26th).

The excellent Belgian GP, at Spa-Francorchamps, started with an exciting getaway. Max Verstappen took the lead with a safe overtake on Antonelli, and then it was Charles Leclerc’s turn to leave the Mercedes driver behind. Still on that first lap, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton caused a minor collision, requiring the safety car to be deployed. Worse for Russell, who went into the gravel. Hamilton, deemed at fault, received a 5-second penalty. The Mercedes driver justified the incident with a lack of straight-line speed, a result of energy management during the race.

The duels between Antonelli and Verstappen, Verstappen and Leclerc, Leclerc and Hamilton, and Leclerc and Antonelli marked the race. Further back, Bortoleto remained steady towards the points while Isack Hadjar, in an incredible recovery drive, went from 21st place to finish 6th.

Antonelli’s victory was consolidated on lap 34 when he took the lead after taking the position from Charles Leclerc. With the result, the gap to Lewis Hamilton increased to 45 points, and to his teammate George Russell, 50 points.

Gabriel Bortoleto, in turn, reaches 10 points with the Audi team, occupying 14th place and establishing himself as the squad’s best driver. Nico Hulkenberg has yet to score points in 2026.

Formula 2 – Rafael Câmara, a candidate for a seat at the Haas F1 team next year, won the Spa round after starting from pole position. Câmara also set the fastest lap. Emmo Fittipaldi retired. On Saturday, in the sprint, Rafael Câmara finished 6th while Emmo finished 14th. In the championship, Rafael is 3rd and Emmo is 21st.

Formula 3 – Pedro Clerot finished the Spa race in 14th and Feffo Barrichello did not complete the course. In the sprint race on Saturday, Pedro Clerot returned to the podium, finishing in 3rd place. Feffo Barrichello was 21st. Clerot is 10th and Barrichello is 29th in the championship standings.