Kimi Antonelli wins Belgian Grand Prix for a big F1 title boost after George Russell out

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Kimi Antonelli always believed he had the momentum in the Formula 1 title race even when results didn't go his way. He made it count with a dominant win Sunday as his teammate and title rival George Russell failed to finish.

Antonelli saw off a challenge from Charles Leclerc to get back to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix after reliability issues had allowed Russell to whittle down his lead in recent weeks. Russell was left fuming in a gravel trap at his Mercedes car's shortcomings.

Antonelli started on pole but lost the lead to Leclerc when a virtual safety car slowdown allowed the Ferrari driver to save time during his pit stop.

Antonelli sped back past Leclerc with 10 laps remaining and cruised from there to his sixth win of the season — and his F1 career — and first since last month's Monaco Grand Prix. It gives him a 45-point overall lead after recent reliability problems and keeps the 19-year-old firmly on target to become F1's youngest-ever champion.

“The momentum has always been there despite what happened in the previous races, and that’s why you just need to take one weekend at a time, because you never know what can happen,” Antonelli said. “With these new cars, new regs, there’s so much going on and so much unpredictable.”

With six wins, Antonelli is now joint-second all time among Italian F1 drivers, behind only Alberto Ascari, a 13-time Grand Prix winner and two-time champion in the early 1950s. In a marker-pen message on a champagne bottle, Antonelli dedicated the win to his father, former sportscar racer Marco Antonelli, whose birthday was on Saturday.

Leclerc strong again

Leclerc was second after avoiding a penalty for a collision which damaged Oscar Piastri's McLaren, and Max Verstappen was third after briefly taking, then losing, the lead from Antonelli on a hectic opening lap.

The Italian stretched his standings lead after Russell was left stuck in the gravel on the first lap after he was pushed into a spin by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

Antonelli went into the race with a 25-point lead over Russell after recent reliability issues for the Italian had cut his advantage. That has now nearly doubled. Antonelli will leave Belgium with a 45-point gap over Hamilton, who moved up to second, and is 50 ahead of Russell.

In a sign of tension at Mercedes after a heavy blow to his title chances, Russell seemed to blame his car, rather than Hamilton, for the incident. Russell said the incident wouldn't have happened if his car hadn't lost speed on the straight into the corner, dropping him behind Hamilton. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested it was a software problem affecting multiple cars with Mercedes engines.

Hamilton not at fault after crew member struck

Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari after an eventful race including a five-second penalty for colliding with Russell, verbal spats with Ferrari over strategy and car setups over the radio, and knocking over a Ferrari mechanic as his car started to leave the pits.

Hamilton immediately asked after the team member’s health and was told he was OK. A post-race inquiry by the stewards found Hamilton was “in no respect at fault” and fined Ferrari 30,000 euros ($34,300), with 10,000 euros of that suspended for a year.

Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren and Isack Hadjar was a strong sixth for Red Bull despite starting at the back of the field because of a penalty.