Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.Antonelli led the early stages from pole position, but only after a frantic opening lap where he was passed by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen before the Mercedes driver got back ahead, just seconds after George Russell had crashed out in the other Mercedes.That was the result of contact with Lewis Hamilton in the other Ferrari, for which Hamilton was later penalized as Russell was spun around and got stuck in the gravel.This led to a safety car period, after which Antonelli extended his lead at the front and Leclerc clashed with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, all while chasing Verstappen’s second place.Debris from various clashes needing to be cleared up led to two short virtual safety car activations, the second of which came after Antonelli had stopped on Lap 18 of 44. Ferrari brought Leclerc in while the race was still neutralized and he gained so much time he vaulted up the order to lead the race once he rejoined.Antonelli taking longer to pass the yet-to-stop McLaren of Lando Norris meant Leclerc had stretched his lead to 3.1-seconds over Antonelli by Lap 26. But the Mercedes closed in from there.He retook the lead on Lap 34, after which Leclerc stayed close behind. But he could not do anything about Antonelli stretching away, with the Italian ending with a victory margin of 1.9-seconds.Verstappen took third, with Hamilton fourth but the seven-time world champion is facing a post-race investigation for an unsafe release from his pit stop. Piastri was fifth, with Isack Hadjar going from the back of the grid to sixth ahead of Norris’ late charge, in large part thanks to Red Bull stopping him behind the early safety car.Luke Smith, Alex Kalinauckas, in Spa, and Madeline Coleman analyze the action.Kimi Antonelli strikes the right balance of risk vs. rewardAntonelli didn’t exactly pull away with the lead at the start. He managed to hold onto his pole position, staying just a few seconds ahead until it came time for him to pit. Mercedes called him in on Lap 19 for hard tires and to defend Max Verstappen’s undercut attempt.But the Italian driver’s biggest test came as he picked his way through the field after other teams pitted and the grid navigated virtual safety cars.It’s a balance of risk versus reward — when do you make a bold move without risking a mistake? He stood to gain significantly in the championship battle after Russell was out in an opening lap incident.Antonelli picked off Norris, who was on older tires, on Lap 26 on the Kemmel Straight and set his sights on Leclerc, who was in the lead. The Ferrari driver quietly became a threat during the race and Leclerc kept Antonelli behind for some time as the Mercedes driver waited to make his move.Kimi Antonelli celebrates his sixth grand prix win of the season. (Clive Rose / Getty Images)By Lap 33, the gap came down to half a second, and a lap later, Antonelli slipped past with relative ease. But it took a while, around five laps to go, for the 19-year-old to create the one-second gap between the two of them.Winning this race marked a big moment for Antonelli, this year starkly contrasting last season. He stood in the media pen after qualifying at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps last season, a tissue in hand and his emotions evident. The European stretch was a rollercoaster for the then rookie — and he struggled with his confidence.