BELGIUM LOWDOWN: All the key moments as Antonelli returns to glory and Russell endures heartbreak

The Belgian Grand Prix lived up to its reputation as an unpredictable race once again as Spa-Francorchamps played host to Round 10 of the 2026 season, with Kimi Antonelli enjoying a hard-fought return to the top step of the podium.

Plenty of other talking points emerged from the weekend, from George Russell's opening lap crash and all the thrilling on-track battles to the eye-catching events that unfolded in F2 and F3.

Here are all the key moments from the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix...

A mixed weekend for the Mercedes drivers

It was a weekend of contrasts for Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and Russell, with everything appearing to go right for the young Italian, and everything appearing to go wrong for the Briton.

In Qualifying, Antonelli looked full of confidence en route to his sixth pole position of the season, finishing a whopping half a second clear of Russell, who was again left feeling annoyed by straight-line speed issues.

“It’s super frustrating,” Russell admitted afterwards. “Battling against Kimi at the best of times is very tough in a fair fight. When we’re in this situation it’s impossible.

“You’re losing all the lap time in the straights. The team are working so hard to try and pinpoint what it is, because it can be a million things. It’s not just the engine is slow.

“It can be the drag or something binding, is it the bearings, is it the power unit, is it the battery, is it the wings, is it the floor? There are a million different things.”

Unfortunately for Russell, his hopes of turning the situation around on race day were ended after just a few corners – a collision with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at Les Combes sending him into the gravel and out of proceedings.

“It’s one thing after another, after another, after another,” he said, adding to his Saturday woes. “Not good enough on all regards. Try and reset again, done it enough times this season, and see what we can do.”

Antonelli, meanwhile, converted pole into a statement win, despite falling behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with a pit stop just before a mid-race Virtual Safety Car.

It was a statement drive that gives him a commanding 45-point advantage over nearest rival Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship, with Russell now 50 points back.

Leclerc rediscovers his form

Heading into July, Leclerc was undoubtedly having a tough time of it – his far more experienced team mate had taken Ferrari's first victory of the season in superb fashion, and it seemed like he just couldn't work out how to extract the same performance from of his own car.

However, he received a much-needed boost at the British Grand Prix, where he earned his ninth career win by executing a strong start to the race and keeping calm even while Antonelli crept up closer and closer behind him.

The pair's potential battle ultimately didn't come to fruition then due to an issue for the Italian, giving them another shot at going head-to-head in Belgium. Leclerc was optimistic that he could repeat the feat this time around and looked on it from the very beginning, taking P3 in the first hour of practice.

He seemed to be firmly in the mix for a front row start on Sunday before a late yellow flag meant that he aborted his final lap in Q3, leaving him to settle for P5 – which soon became P4 after Lando Norris' grid penalty was applied.

From there on Sunday, he charged past Russell to snatch P3 on the opening lap and was well on his way to improving to second place, but a faster Max Verstappen left him at the mercy of Oscar Piastri, who he clashed with in a nervy scrap that caused damage to the McLaren.

Avoiding a penalty for causing a collision, Ferrari went on to execute a masterclass in strategy that saw them take advantage of the Virtual Safety Car to pit Leclerc for fresh tyres and send him back out ahead of Antonelli. He couldn't quite fend off the Italian over the final laps, but put up an admirable contest for the win and showed for a second consecutive round that he can still deliver when given the opportunity.

Red Bull impress despite abandoning their upgraded wing

Over at Red Bull, the dramas of Austria and Britain were put behind them with Max Verstappen’s strong drive to the podium and Isack Hadjar’s equally impressive recovery from the back of the grid.

Verstappen made the most of a tow from Hadjar in Qualifying to start second, before moving into the lead of the race with an early move on polesitter Antonelli.

After Antonelli reclaimed P1, Verstappen settled into second and looked on course for the runner-up spot, only to – as per the Mercedes driver – drop behind Ferrari rival Leclerc with a stop just before the VSC came out.

Verstappen nonetheless rounded out the podium places to give Red Bull something to celebrate again, while Hadjar added to the smiles with a charge from the back row – where he started because of a power unit-related grid penalty – to sixth.

“First, it is a very strong result for everyone back at [the factory in] Milton Keynes who has worked so hard to get the car stronger and stronger,” Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies told Sky Sports F1.

“We have made a step forward after Austria and it was a bit more of a difficult weekend in Silverstone, and here we have confirmed that we can fight for podiums pretty much at every circuit.

“The last bit to get is the most difficult, and Kimi had still a sizeable advantage, but everyone is working very hard to close that gap.”

Bortoleto bags back-to-back P8 finishes

Gabriel Bortoleto did not arrive this weekend as the midfield man to catch. But that is how it wound up, the Brazilian finishing ‘best of the rest’ in eighth place – the second time in a row he has come home P8, following his success at Silverstone.

His third points score of the season lifts Audi to within one point of Williams in the Teams’ Championship too. He had to work hard, pipping Liam Lawson in Qualifying to make Q3, which ensured he started P8 for Sunday’s showpiece.

Audi’s race pace was every bit as impressive as their Qualifying pace, and they seem to have solved their Achilles’ heel of starting slowly. Bortoleto was able to avoid the first lap chaos to run solidly in the top 10, and while he was fortunate with the timing of his pit stop, he then held off a charging Arvid Lindblad for lap after lap to secure that finishing slot.

The team deserve credit too, as they managed to execute a 2.1s pit stop for the Brazilian, which was crucial in leapfrogging the Racing Bulls cars. All in all, Audi had a solid weekend, with Bortoleto very much making strides forward in his second season in F1. Somewhat incredibly, he now has three points finishes to his name, while his team mate is yet to get off the mark.

Racing Bulls and Alpine's battle rages on

Heading to Belgium, Alpine and Racing Bulls were locked in a fierce battle as just one point separated the two teams in the standings.

It looked like Racing Bulls had the edge, with Lindblad putting in an impressive performance to qualify P7 with a new upgrade package that was only on the rookie's car for the event – a perk for out-qualifying team mate Liam Lawson at Silverstone.

With Hadjar, Norris and Bortoleto moving ahead of Lindblad during the race, the Briton came away with P9 in the final classification and extended his run of point-scoring finishes to five.

Behind, Lawson was locked in a thrilling battle between himself and the Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto, which included going three-wide along the Kemmel Straight at one point.

Just 1.5 seconds covered the trio at the chequered flag, with Colapinto ultimately getting the upper hand to claim P10 and the final point, leaving Alpine and Racing Bulls tied on 61 points heading to Hungary.

Camara wins in F2, Rivera takes the victory in F3

There was plenty of action for the fans to watch before the Grand Prix began, with both support series on show at Spa. Rafael Camara was on the top step of the rostrum in the F2 Feature Race, the Invicta Racing man taking his second victory of the season.

The Brazilian started on pole but lost his lead soon after the lights went out. He fought back well, and successfully negotiated a red flag stoppage for the spinning Laurens Van Hoepen, whose car dramatically caught fire after he hit the barriers.

Camara then held off a charging Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak to seal the win, with the ART Grand Prix man coming home second ahead of Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov, who remains in the lead of the championship, 27 points ahead of Gabriele Mini.

In F3, Ernesto Rivera claimed victory in the Feature Race from fourth on the grid. The Campos Racing man picked off those ahead in the opening laps and then cruised to the win for his best result of the season.

The Mexican beat Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing), with Freddie Slater third for TRIDENT. Slater remains in contention for the championship crown, one point behind Ugo Ugochukwu.

Both F2 and F3 are back in action next weekend in Budapest.