Kimi Antonelli reasserted his dominance in the World Drivers’ Championship (WDC) by winning the 2026 Belgian GP. In a chaotic race affected by a virtual safety car (VSC), Charles Leclerc secured P2, while Max Verstappen returned to the top three after a difficult outing at Silverstone.
Antonelli’s teammate, George Russell, saw his race end prematurely after colliding with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, falling further behind in the WDC standings. We cover some of the important stories in Sports Side’s Biggest Hits and Misses format.
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Hit: Kimi Antonelli reasserts his dominance
Although Antonelli’s start was not as bad as his teammate Russell’s, Verstappen overtook the Italian at Eau Rouge; the Dutchman burned too much of his battery in the process, and Antonelli reclaimed his lead in a short time. Leclerc led briefly during the VSC intervention, but Antonelli emerged victorious, extending his lead to 45 points.
Miss: George Russell suffers from yet another setback
It was a very difficult weekend for the British driver to begin with, as he was struggling to get performance out of the car on Saturday’s qualifying. His power unit’s deployment algorithm cost him straight-line speed compared to Antonelli.
This issue continued on Sunday as his power unit did not regenerate energy at Turn 1, leaving him vulnerable to the pack behind, and not long after, he collided with his former teammate Hamilton, ending his race.
Speaking with the media, team principal Toto Wolff said it was a 50% power unit problem, 50 % driver problem. After Silverstone, there emerged hope for Russell as he was just 25 points behind Antonelli, but now, after Belgium, the deficit is 45 points again, with Russell still behind his teammate in pace.
Hit: Charles Leclerc’s incredible performance
Ferrari and Leclerc arrived at Spa expecting a difficult weekend. The power-hungry circuit was expected to expose Ferrari’s deployment weakness. He passed Verstappen in the early stages, and from then on, it appeared that P3 was the best possible result.
Leclerc, who is often known for being unlucky, enjoyed a different kind of Sunday. He first avoided a penalty after colliding with Piastri, as the incident was deemed a racing incident. Ferrari then made the right call to pit under the VSC. The Monegasque could not stay ahead of Antonelli, however, as Ferrari lacked the straight-line speed of the Mercedes. Leclerc achieved the best possible result under normal circumstances.
The past few races have shown that although Mercedes is faster than Ferrari, the Maranello-based team holds an edge over Mercedes in terms of consistency, with the German outfit facing occasional reliability issues.
Miss: Oscar Piastri’s difficult season continues
Oscar Piastri has been enduring a difficult season with new regulations. It was a P5 for the Australian driver as team MCL 40 was more competitive than expected at Spa. Piastri has been struggling to match Norris’s pace from the past few races.
Normally, Piastri starts slow but catches up with his teammate over time, but this weekend he faced hydraulic issues compromising his qualifying.
Hit: Gabriel Bortoleto’s consecutive points finish
Gabriel Bortoleto scored points for the second consecutive race. The Brazilian finished ahead of Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, scoring four points.
Due to Audi’s power unit deficiencies, not much was expected from the German team, but Bortoleto dragged the R26 into Q3 for the first time in four rounds.
The safety car helped him overtake Lindblad, but regardless, it was his most impressive performance so far. The 21-year-old remains the sole contributor to Audi’s 10 points so far.
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