Kimi Antonelli Wins 2026 Belgian Grand Prix; George Russell Retires After First-Lap Contact
Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Kimi Antonelli took victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, while teammate George Russell's race ended on the first lap due to contact with Lewis Hamilton.
- 6
- 8
- 1:49.098
- 3 seconds
What Happened
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix from pole position, taking his sixth victory of the season and the team's eighth. However, teammate George Russell was eliminated on the opening lap after contact with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, caused by a lack of boost that affected both cars' power. Antonelli lost the lead to Max Verstappen but regained it, then employed a one-stop Medium-Hard strategy. A Virtual Safety Car allowed Charles Leclerc to pit and take the lead, but Antonelli closed a three-second gap and retook the lead with under 10 laps to go, eventually pulling clear to win.
Both Mercedes suffer lack of boost on run to Turn 5; Antonelli loses lead to Verstappen, Russell is swamped and contacted by Hamilton, causing retirement.
Safety Car deployed due to Russell's incident.
Antonelli pits from the lead to cover Verstappen, retains position on Medium-Hard one-stop.
Leclerc pits under VSC, gaining track position to take the lead.
Antonelli closes three-second gap and passes Leclerc for the lead.
- Antonelli: P1; Russell: P3
- Antonelli: P1; Russell: DNF
- Antonelli: 1:49.098; Russell: -
“It's good to be back on the top step of the podium after a couple of difficult weekends. It was a hard-fought win and didn't come easily. We lost the lead on the run to Eau Rouge but got it back on the opening lap. We looked in control but then lost it again when Leclerc was able to pit under the Virtual Safety Car. We kept calm though and slowly closed the gap down. He was very quick and, even af”
Team Principal Toto Wolff described the day as bittersweet, praising Antonelli's focused drive while noting Russell's misfortune was outside his control. Both cars suffered from a lack of boost on the opening lap, the cause of which is under investigation. Wolff emphasized the team's strong package capable of fighting for wins and championships, but identified reliability as the clearest weakness. Trackside Engineering Director Andrew Shovlin added that despite the win, the team still faces issues with the current regulations and must continue learning to maximise points.
Previously from Mercedes-Benz
In practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in FP2 after a difficult FP1, while George Russell struggled for pace.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Mercedes-Benz's official releases.
Why this matters
Antonelli's sixth win of the season keeps Mercedes in contention for both championships, but persistent reliability issues, including a boost problem that affected both cars on the opening lap, cost the team valuable points. With one race left before the summer shutdown, the team must resolve these issues to maximize their points-scoring potential.
Terms in This Story
- DNF
- Did Not Finish; a driver who retires before the end of the race.
- Virtual Safety Car (VSC)
- A safety procedure that imposes a speed limit on all cars to neutralize the race without deploying a physical safety car.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.