Kimi Antonelli extends his lead in the championship to 45 points as he takes the checkered flag to win the Belgian Grand Prix after a disappointing British Grand Prix. Here is what went down in the 44 laps.
Biggest talking point: Russell's lap 1 DNF
Heading into the weekend there were many question marks over why George Russell seems to be at a disadvantage when it comes to bringing the fight to Kimi Antonelli with him claiming after qualifying that his driving style is not the problem but in fact the problem lies on the lack of straight line speed his Mercedes has on the straights.
This issue was brought up again when on lap 1 of the race Russell seemed to be moving backwards on the Kemmel straight even though coming out of La source he was almost side by side with max Verstappen who was able to take the lead through Eau Rouge and Raidillon but the lead was retaken by Antonelli due to his superior power on the Kemmel straight. With his lack of power, George Russell seemed defenceless on the straight dropping to fifth going into Les Combes before getting spun around and taken out by Lewis Hamilton who later controversially received a five second penalty although many including George Russell saw the contact as a racing incident. Russell was left furious about even being in that position going into Les Combes as he shouted down in the un-televised radio after the crash " I'm out what the f*** happened with the SOC down the straight? I had f***ing no battery on the straight! Guys unacceptable un-f***ing-acceptable this whole weekend". After he got back to the paddock and talked to the media Russell seemed to be deflated and on the brink of tears during an interview with sky sports as his confusion grows as to why he can't seem to get on the same level as his teammate.
George Russell will be hoping the summer break will come quick and give him the chance to recharge and find some answers for his growing gap to Antonelli and decreasing confidence
Podium finishers
P1: Kimi Antonelli
It was not all smooth sailing for the championship leader who didn't dominate like everyone thought. After overtaking Max Verstappen on lap 1 he didn't drive off into the distance like expected but he did hold a healthy gap of around 2 seconds before the pit stops.
He was hit with a bit of bad luck after pitting on lap 18 as on lap 21 the VSC (virtual safety car) was deployed which allowed Ferrari to double stack their cars and Charles Leclerc was able to come out ahead of Antonelli.
On the attack Kimi was able to overtake Norris to move up to 2nd on lap 26 and the gap to Leclerc was only 3 seconds. With the fastest driver-car combination, it didn't take long for Kimi Antonelli and his silver arrow to catch up to Leclerc and on lap 34 Antonelli was able to retake the lead and crosses the line 2 seconds ahead of Leclerc.
This was the result Antonelli needed to get back his momentum from before the Spanish Grand Prix and send a message to his rivals.
P2: Charles Leclerc
It was a lucky type of race for Charles Leclerc who began with shooting up into second on lap 1 overtaking Max Verstappen on the Kemmel straight with Verstappen later describing him as a "red rocket" due to the mega slipstream Leclerc had to complete the move.
A lap after the safety car restart Leclerc was overtaken by Verstappen and was quickly under pressure from Oscar Piastri which led to controversial contact between the pair in which Charles Leclerc was fortunate to escape with no penalty as the FIA deemed that Piastri wouldn't be able to complete the move from the outside.
After the second VSC where the Monegasque was able to pit and stay ahead of Antonelli, he was able to enjoy some laps in the lead after overtaking Lando Norris who was on old hard tires and could've had a shot of a podium if Mclaren had pitted him sooner. Unfortunately, Leclerc was unable to hold onto this lead and finished a respectable P2 and carries on the good form he found at Silverstone.
P3: Max Verstappen
Red Bull came into the weekend with low expectations after what was a frustrating weekend at Silverstone for Max Verstappen who was on course for a podium before his rear wing malfunctioned which sent him crashing out in front of the Lando Stand. With the old spec rear wing fitted Red Bull weren't expecting to be near the front of the field with Mercedes and Ferrari but after qualifying P2 with Max they were doing just that.
It was an exciting opening few corners for Max Verstappen who was able to take the lead with a simply lovely move on Kimi Antonelli into Eau Rouge but he may have been too trigger happy with his battery as Antonelli and Leclerc were able to breeze past him on the Kemmel straight as he fell down to P3. He was able to regain P2 back, where he remained until his pit stop.
There was a threat to undercut Antonelli until the 1st VSC of the day was deployed just a lap after Verstappen pitted however it was brief, giving Antonelli time to pit before Max could catch up to him. The potential battle for P2 was also ruined by another VSC which gave Leclerc time to pit otherwise him and Max would've put on an entertaining wheel to wheel battle. Verstappen eventually finished P3 which was a positive result after a rough weekend last time out and a good start to the double header.
My Driver Of The Day: Isack Hadjar
After having taken new PU components and having to start P21 Isack Hadjar delivered one of the standout drives of the race to finish in P6 in his best race for Red Bull so far and arguably his career. A smart strategy from Red Bull to pit him twice during the safety car period at the start of the race meant that Hadjar was able to carve his way through the field without making a pit stop when others had to allowing him to jump up the order. This race was also one of his strongest in regards of his pace; he showed consistent times with the top 3 including his teammate Max Verstappen who finished just 12 seconds ahead of him so have Red Bull finally found the solution to the second seat curse? This was an incredibly underrated drive from Isack Hadjar which included consistency attacking and defending which were the right skills needed for a brilliant drive.
Final Thoughts
It was a thrilling and dramatic 44 laps around Spa- Francorchamps with major championship consequences and unexpected results. F1 heads to Hungary next week as the final race before the summer break and part 2 of the double header. Can George Russell bounce back just before the break or has this weekend truly rattled him?
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Comments
Absolutely incredible. Very imformative and it even helped me learn how to spell "Eau Rouge" properly. Keep it up