Showing posts with label Belgian Grand Prix 2026. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belgian Grand Prix 2026. Show all posts
Monday, 20 July 2026
Sunday, 19 July 2026
KIMI ANTONELLI WINS BELGIAN GRAND PRIX TO EXTEND F1 CHAMPIIONSHIP LEAD
Mercedes driver won his sixth GP of 2026 as championship rival and teammate George Russell crashes out on first lap.
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| Kimi Antonelli celebrates winning the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, July 19 [Andrej Isakovic/AFP] |
Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 45 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on a bleak day for teammate George Russell, his closest title rival heading into the race.
Russell had been the 19-year-old Italian’s closest rival before the start at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Briton spun off into the gravel on the opening lap after a collision with Hamilton while trying to make up places lost at lights out.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second in the 44-lap race, 1.952 seconds behind after leading, thanks to a pit stop while a virtual safety car was deployed, with Max Verstappen third to give Red Bull their 300th Formula One podium.
Hamilton finished fourth, despite serving a five-second penalty for the collision with Russell, but remained under investigation for an unsafe release from a pit stop that could drop him to fifth and further stretch Antonelli’s lead.
It was Antonelli’s sixth win in 10 rounds this season, leaving him 50 points clear of Russell. Antonelli was first in qualifying, continuing Mercedes’ clean sweep of pole positions this season.
“It’s great to be back on the top step after a few difficult rounds,” said Antonelli, who had drawn a blank in two of the past three rounds.
“It was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with the VSC but then we managed to make our way back.
“The momentum was always there. It was just about getting the results,” he added. “Today we were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship but you have to take every opportunity because we saw how much it can swing.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished fifth, with Isack Hadjar sixth for Red Bull from last on the grid. Reigning champion Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren after starting 13th due to a 10-place grid drop.
Gabriel Bortoleto brought more points for Audi in eighth place, with Arvid Lindblad ninth for Racing Bulls and Argentine Franco Colapinto completing the scoring in 10th place for Renault-owned Alpine.
- Reuters
FIA PUNISH LEWIS HAMILTON AFTER DRAMATIC GEORGE RUSSELL COLLISION AT BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Lewis Hamilton has been punished by the FIA after a dramatic collision with George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix.
George Russell was involved in a dramatic collision on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix with Lewis Hamiliton, leading to a punishment for the seven-time world champion.
The Mercedes driver has seen his bid for the 2026 drivers’ championship take another hit as he has had to retire from the race this weekend at Spa.
It means that he will receive no points for his world championship bid, seeing him lose ground on his teammate and title rival Kimi Antonelli if the Italian driver were to finish the race.
Before the red lights went out, the gap between the title rivals was 25 points, but this is expected to grow if all goes to plan for Antonelli.
Hamilton appeared to be at fault for the incident; at least that is the reading from the FIA, as they have given the Ferrari driver a five-second penalty for causing the incident.
The seven-time world champion will now serve that penalty when he enters the pit, with his team not being allowed to touch his car until the car has been sat stationary for five seconds.
Hamilton was straight on the team radio to defend his actions in the incident, as he said: “Car crossed over in front of me. I was right behind another car, so I had no front end.”
Russell appeared to be quite emotional in his interview with Sky Sports after the collision, after getting back to the pits following the collision.
He said: "I just got totally swallowed up down the straight," Russell told reporters back in the Spa paddock, before Hamilton was issued with a five-second penalty by the stewards.
"I lost three positions down the straight down into turn 5 and then the incident was a racing incident. Maybe I could have gone a bit wider or he could have braked a bit more.
"The incident wouldn't have happened if I had the speed down the straight. I'm very, very disappointed."
Hamilton’s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc was involved in a collision just a number of laps later at the same corner, as he made contact with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
Leclerc would then progress past the Australian at the corner, and it appeared that this had an impact on the McLaren car as Hamilton, who was nearby during the incident, also overtook Piastri within a couple of laps following the incident.
However, while the seven-time world champion got a punishment from the FIA for his collision, Leclerc would not.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images
- Brendan McGilligan
Saturday, 18 July 2026
LEWIS HAMILTON 'DESTROYS' FERRARI IN THE FINAL BELGIAN GP PRACTICE
It was almost a carbon-copy repeat of Pierre Gasly's incident in Friday practice.
Lewis Hamilton left his Ferrari mechanics with a mountain to climb ahead of qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix after crashing in final practice.
In what was an almost identical incident to Alpine driver Pierre Gasly's smash in second practice on Friday, on his final flying lap in the dying moments of FP3 at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Hamilton ran wide in emerging from the Fagnes chicane.
In attempting to control his car as it careered across the gravel, the seven-time F1 champion hit a barrier with the rear of his SF-26.
The impact immediately ripped off the rear wheel that was left hanging on by its tethers, whilst also severely damaging the rear wing.
Unlike Gasly, who spun through 360 degrees twice before finally coming to rest, Hamilton maintained forward momentum before finally stopping on track due to the damage sustained.
Asked over the radio whether he was okay, Hamilton responded by saying: "I've destroyed the car! Sorry!"
It means his team is in a race against time to repair the car and ready it for qualifying, which starts at 3pm UK [4pm CET; 10am EST].
- Ian Parkes
TWO MORE DRIVERS HIT WITH SPA GRID PENALTIES
Isack Hadjar and Lance Stroll have joined Lando Norris in receiving grid penalties for Sunday’s Belgian grand prix after taking new power unit components at Spa-Francorchamps.
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| Isack Hadjar will join Lando Norris and Lance Stroll with grid penalties for the Belgian Grand Prix. Image: XPB Images |
Hadjar has been handed the most severe punishment after Red Bull fitted his car with a fifth internal combustion engine, turbocharger and exhaust system of the season.
Each component exceeds the Frenchman’s permitted allocation, resulting in penalties totalling 30 grid places and requiring him to start from the rear of the field regardless of where he qualifies on Saturday.
Hadjar acknowledged before the changes were confirmed that extending his run of five consecutive top-six finishes would be difficult this weekend.
“This weekend, I think another top-six finish is going to be difficult given where I’m starting from, but we’ll give it a go,” Hadjar told Canal+.
“The main focus will be on race pace. It won’t be as much about qualifying performance, because we already know what to expect.
“We’ll probably start 22nd on the grid, but Spa is a track where you can overtake. A lot can happen, and we know we’ve got decent race pace. So I’m expecting to have some fun on Sunday.”
Hadjar’s hopes of recovering through the field will depend heavily on Red Bull’s race pace as he attempts to continue his recent run of form.
His teammate Max Verstappen has also received a new engine, turbocharger and exhaust this weekend but remains within his permitted allocation and will avoid a penalty.
Stroll will meanwhile drop 10 places from wherever he qualifies after Aston Martin installed a new MGU-K on his car.
The Canadian’s penalty may have less of an impact than those facing Hadjar and Norris, with Aston Martin expecting Spa to be one of its most difficult events of the season.
Norris’ 10-place penalty was confirmed on Thursday after McLaren introduced a fourth power electronics unit on the reigning world champion’s car.
The 26-year-old had already exhausted his permitted allocation following several failures during the opening nine rounds, making a penalty effectively unavoidable.
Spa is traditionally regarded as one of the better circuits at which to serve an engine penalty due to its long straights and greater number of overtaking opportunities compared with many other venues.
- Ben Waterworth
Friday, 17 July 2026
Tuesday, 14 July 2026
Saturday, 11 July 2026
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