F1 news: Kimi Antonelli wins eventful Belgian GP as George Russell retires at Spa

Kimi Antonelli claimed victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, taking the chequered flag ahead of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton finished fourth at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps before Ferrari were subject to a post-race investigation and fined after an unsafe pit release saw a mechanic struck by the Briton’s front-right tyre and knocked to his knees.

George Russell, meanwhile, was forced to retire having been spun onto the gravel at turn five following contact with Hamilton, who was handed a five-second penalty for his efforts.

Antonelli now leads the Drivers’ Championship standings by 45 points over Hamilton.

Italian back on top

“It’s great to be back on the top step after obviously a few difficult rounds,” a delighted Antonelli said on Sky Sports.

“It was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with a VSC, but then we managed to make our way back.

“It was a tough win because Charles was quick and we had to hold onto them.”

Leclerc full of belief

Leclerc was similarly upbeat as the result continued a resurgence in form that saw the Monégasque win the British GP two weeks ago.

“I believed in the win until the end,” he stated.

“We had a little bit of luck with the VSC at the right time for us, but the pace was relatively strong.

“There were five or six laps on the hard tyres when I was struggling with the front axle, then it came back a little bit.”

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Russell laments ongoing struggles

Russell was understandably dejected by a disastrous outing, saying: “I just got totally swallowed up down the straight.

“I lost three positions down the straight, down into turn five, and then the incident was a racing incident.

“Maybe I could have gone a bit wider, maybe he [Hamilton] could have braked a bit more.

“The incident shouldn’t have happened if I had the speed down the straight.”

Hamilton explains accidental collision

Asked about his collision with the mechanic, Hamilton told Sky Sports F1: “The green light went and so I went.

“You’re looking over here [to the left at the lights], you’re not looking over there, so that’s more probably on the team, ultimately.

“But when it happened, then I noticed him and I stopped, and it just went through my mind in that moment when Kimi [Räikkönen] hit [a mechanic] and broke a leg [at the 2018 Bahrain GP] and my heart really sank for a second.

“I’m really grateful he’s OK.”

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