F1 2026 Belgium GP LIVE: Race stream, updates and times with Antonelli on pole – UK Times

Russell is out – beeched in the gravel! A nightmare for the Mercedes driver and his world championship charge.

He was struggling for speed going up Eau Rouge – but made contact with Hamilton at turn 5!

Antonelli lost the lead at turn 1 but then regained it heading into turn 5 with a massive slipstream!

But Russell and Hamilton have touched and Russell has spun and is in the gravel!

Kimi Antonelli leads the pack away then for the longest formation lap of the season.

All the top-12 are on mediums but Lando Norris, in P13, is on hards. He’s looking to go long.

The back three, including Isack Hadjar, also on hard tyres.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. George Russell (Mercedes)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

11. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

12. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

13. Lando Norris (McLaren)*

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

17. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)*

20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)*

21. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)**

22. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)***

*Norris, Stroll and Sainz have a 10-place grid penalty and will start in 13th

**Hadjar has a 30-place grid penalty and will start in 21st

***Alonso had a 20-place grid penalty and will start 22nd

On weather: “We really don’t know what to expect in Spa.”

On Russell speed issue: “I really hope we’ve found the root cause on the engine, there’s something we saw.”

On Verstappen at start: “It’s a bit of an unknown about the slipstream, but energy management will be the prevailing factor, it will be a surprise box but curious to see how it will pan out.”

“Looks like a bit of rain around, I don’t think it’s going to rain, I might jinx it!

“I want a decent start but the race-pace is unknown.”

As the skies turn a bit dark over Spa-Francorchamps, the Belgian national anthem is beautifully sung by singer Typh Barrow.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. George Russell (Mercedes)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

7. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

8. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

11. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

12. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

13. Lando Norris (McLaren)*

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

17. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

18. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

19. Carlos Sainz (Williams)*

20. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)*

21. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)**

22. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)***

*Norris, Stroll and Sainz have a 10-place grid penalty and will start in 13th

**Hadjar has a 30-place grid penalty and will start in 21st

***Alonso had a 20-place grid penalty and will start 22nd

Antonelli’s lead is 25 points.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 179 points

2. George Russell (Mercedes) – 154 points

3. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 147 points

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 108 points

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 97 points

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 82 points

7. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 76 points

8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 52 points

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 42 points

10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 39 points

“Cold. I love it here, we’ve got a great turnout, today is a lot of opportunities; it will be tough to catch Kimi.

“Every second you get on this track – I remember growing up watching at home with Michael [Schumacher] racing, Formula 3 came here in 2005. Every time you come here, there’s nothing like this track, I wish we had more sessions!”