Follow live coverage of today's Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-FrancorchampsAlex Kalinauckas and moreJuly 19, 2026 at 1:07 PM EDTKimi Anontelli returns to the Spa pits after winning the 2026 Belgian GP Getty ImagesAnother Belgian GP in the history books Getty ImagesThat's it for another Belgian GP. It wasn't a classic, but at least Leclerc, Ferrari and the VSC kept things interesting.F1 now heads to Budapest for the 2026 Hungarian GP.Luke is working on an analysis of Antonelli's crushing weekend performance, which will be going live on The Athletic website tomorrow morning, while Madeline is working up a reflection for Tuesday on George Russell's painful event overall in Belgium. Will it be another Mercedes-fest in Hungary? We'll know soon enough.Thanks for joining us on the live blog today from here in Spa today, see you next time!The championship picture leaving Spa Getty ImagesThe Hamilton investigation concluding means the race result is effectively confirmed (the FIA is yet to formally issue the relevant bulletin declaring this).That means the points standings for the top five drivers in the championship leaving Spa is as follows:Kimi Antonlli, Mercedes - 204Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari - 159George Russell, Mercedes - 154Charles Leclerc, Ferrari - 126Lando Norris, McLaren - 103Hamilton keeps fourth after Ferrari fined Getty ImagesLewis Hamilton will keep his fourth place finish after Ferrari was fined for the pit stop incident where Hamilton struck a mechanic as he was released from his stop.The mechanic had been trying to make a front wing flap adjustment - common at most pit stops as this can change how a car is handling to help the driver - but was looking down at his tool just as Hamilton received a green light to go.Ferrari having to wait five-seconds before it could service Hamilton's car due to his penalty for hitting Mercedes driver George Russell on Lap 1 meant it did not warn the mechanics about the front wing adjustment until after the five-second hold and while the tires when being changed.The whole incident has cost Ferrari €30,000 "of which €10,000 is suspended for 12 months on condition that the competitor does not commit a similar infringement in the meantime and on the further condition that within 14 days the competitor submits a report to the FIA regarding the incident and protocols introduced to mitigate the risk of such an incident occurring in the future," according to the FIA bulletin announcing the outcome.Hadjar's 'best race' for Red Bull Getty ImagesI've just been down to Red Bull to hear team principal Laurent Mekies address reporters. He was clearly relieved with Max Verstappen back on the podium after the rear wing issues at the last two races in Austria and at Silverstone, but he had particular praise for Isack Hadjar in the other RB22.The French driver started on the back row after his engine-change grid penalty, but he finished a superb fifth after stopping under the race's early safety car and then gaining again as he was able to make a second stop when the virtual safety car was activated.Mekies called it Hadjar's "best race with us, no question," after he joined Red Bull from its junior team, Racing Bulls, for the start of the 2025 campaign."Honestly, it's not only a spike," Mekies said "He's been just a little bit better every single race for speed. So he's bringing some speed every time he's driving."Today is another step."Mercedes' messy celebrations Alex Kalinauckas/The AthleticIt wasn't just on the podium where Antonelli got soaked in champagne, once he was finished being grilled by Luke and co. in the press conference, Mercedes arranged its celebration picture on the elevated ramp team trucks traverse to unload the cars into the pit garages here. And they really let him have it, as you can see from my picture. Kimi's only complaint? "It's so cold!"Paddock packdown to pause? Alex Kalinauckas/The AthleticAs the champagne was soaking into the overalls of Antonelli, Leclerc and Verstappen on the podium, the pit lane was already filling with mechanics stripping down the team pit equipment so it can be packed up and transported to Hungary for the next race this time next week. There's four hours until the World Cup final kicks off in New York City. With soccer very popular in the F1 world, I wonder if they'll be able to pause filling the trucks in time to watch the game? As of Thursday, Argentine driver Franco Colpinto was yet to finalized his final-watching plan, while Spaniard Carlos Sainz is flying home with Leclerc and take off is set for kick off! Sainz was already fearing Ferrari's post-race debrief would run long if his former teammate got on the podium, as Luke explained below, and that has now come to pass ... Verstappen popular on the podium Alex Kalinauckas/The AthleticI popped down to the pit lane to catch the end of the podium ceremony. While the Spa crowd (which hit 400,000-strong over the whole weekend, according to a Formula One Management statement) gave Kimi Antonelli warm applause in recognition of his win, there was no doubt who they gave the loudest cheer: Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was born in the country and has half-Belgian ancestry on his mother's side. Plus, he always puts on a show at this fearsome track.How Antonelli recovered to win at Spa Getty ImagesCheck out Luke and Madeline's briefing on that rather breathless Belgian GP, with its crash-filled opening and late chase for Antonelli against Leclerc. The podium ceremony is underway and we'll be hearing from the drivers and team bosses in the paddock shortly.The race's other retirements Getty ImagesAfter Russell's early exit, two more cars failed to finish today's race. Sergio Pérez retired on Lap 13 due to a "rear spring/damper issue" on his Cadillac, per a team statement. And Lance Stroll stopped on Lap 25 after he felt a gearbox problem developing on his car that Aston Martin decided needed investigating in the pits.Antonelli wins the 2026 Belgian GP! Getty ImagesCheckered flag! Antonelli wins, as he has looked like doing ever since Mercedes fixed its set up in second practice back on Friday afternoon. The final winning margin is 1.9-seconds and Antonelli now has a 50-point lead over Russell (who is down to third and back behind Hamilton, as it stands) in the championship standings.Last lap!Lap 44/44: It's almost race done for the lead battle, Antonelli has started the final lap with a handy 2.5-second lead over Leclerc.Why Hamilton was penalized for the Russell clash Getty ImagesWe've already had the stewards' ruling emailed through, about Hamilton's penalty for the collision with Russell. The stewards said they acknowledged "several mitigating circumstances" which included it being a Lap 1 incident (for which there is normally more leeway given) and his attempt to leave more room for Russell. But that meant Hamilton 'only' got a five-second penalty rather than the usual 10 seconds for causing a collision like that.Hamilton up to fourth, but may not keep it Getty ImagesLap 40/44: Hamilton has had plenty of action in this race, with his penalty for the collision with Russell on Lap 1 and then slow pitstop where he went to rejoin while a Ferrari mechanic was still working on his car. This will be investigated post-race and could yet land Hamilton with another penalty. Hamilton has just passed Piastri to retake fourth place, with Verstappen a further four-seconds ahead in third.Antonelli grabs breathing spaceLap 39/44: Antonelli has now got the lead gap over one second, which means Leclerc loses access to the higher engine power of Overtake Mode. That could be it for the victory battle ...Antonelli not escaping Getty ImagesAntonelli isn't disappearing into the distance as I was anticipating, here. Leclerc's managed to keep the Mercedes within sight and stay within the one-second window for Overtake Mode and higher engine power for now. It's at least some pressure on Antonelli...Antonelli back to first!Lap 34/44: That didn't take long at all - Antonelli breezes by Leclerc on the Kemmel Straight on his second lap using the Overtake Mode. Mercedes had warned that Leclerc might try and squeeze him at the subsequent Les Combes chicane, as he did against Piastri much earlier, but the pass was completed much earlier on the straight and there was little fight overall.Game on for the win Getty ImagesLap 33/44: As the race heads towards its final 11 laps, Antonelli has got the gap to Leclerc down under one second. He'll now have extra electric energy to spend which Leclerc can't access.Norris stops and loses time Getty ImagesLap 30/44: Norris finally stops to swap medium tires for hards, but his left-rear hard won't come off fast and the same medium won't go back on quickly either! He's down to eighth place and behind Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi when he would've come out in clean air but for the slow pit stop.McLaren warn Norris Getty ImagesNorris, who was passed for third by Verstappen a few laps earlier and is still yet to stop, is told by his race engineer Will Joseph that he "doesn't want any yo-yo racing" with Piastri in the sister McLaren, and will "explain why later." That would only serve to hold up Piastri, who is on fresher tires and set to go to the finish without coming in again, unlike his teammate.Where Antonelli is gaining Getty ImagesLap 29/44: Antonelli isn't quite chomping into Leclerc's lead, but he has whittled the gap down to 2.5-seconds from 3.1-seconds in two laps. The Mercedes is quicker in sectors one and three, but the Ferrari takes back a handy few tenths in the middle sector.