Antonelli wins in Belgium as Russell crashes out
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SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium, July 19 : 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 race 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 the start.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second in the 44-lap race, 1.952 seconds behind after leading thanks to a pitstop 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 pitstop that could drop him to fifth and further stretch Antonelli’s lead.
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It was Antonelli’s sixth win in 10 rounds this season, and it left him 50 points clear of Russell. Antonelli was first in qualifying for the race, 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, and reigning champion Lando Norris 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.
Source: Reuters
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