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

Kimi Antonelli saw off a challenge from Charles Leclerc to get back to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday as his teammate and Formula 1 title rival George Russell failed to finish.

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.

"Let's go!" he told the Mercedes team over the radio. "Thank you so much, guys, thank you."

Leclerc was second and Max Verstappen was third after briefly taking, then losing, the lead from Antonelli on the opening lap.

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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 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.

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