Kimi Antonelli strengthened his Formula 1 title challenge with a commanding victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after George Russell retired with another Mercedes reliability problem.
The Mercedes driver recovered from briefly losing the lead to Charles Leclerc before overtaking the Ferrari star in the closing stages to secure his sixth victory of the season.
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Antonelli started from pole position but slipped behind Leclerc after a Virtual Safety Car allowed the Ferrari driver to gain time during the pit stop phase.
The 19-year-old fought back with 10 laps remaining before pulling clear to claim another important win at Spa-Francorchamps.
“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.
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“With these new cars, new regs, there’s so much going on and so much unpredictable.”
While Antonelli celebrated, Mercedes team-mate George Russell saw his race end prematurely after another reliability issue left him stranded in the gravel.
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The victory extends Antonelli’s championship lead to 45 points and moves him level for second on the all-time list of Italian Formula 1 race winners with six victories, behind only Alberto Ascari.
Antonelli also dedicated the win to his father Marco, whose birthday fell on Saturday.
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