F1 Review: Antonelli enjoys weekend at spa
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BELGIUM -- Kimi Antonelli dominated several practice sessions and qualifying, setting up the expectation he would cruise to an easy win. In a race planned to be just one pit stop, a late virtual safety car turned the race's leading order on its head and gave Ferrari's Charles Leclerc the lead halfway through the race.
Antonelli was able to catch up to Leclerc and passed him on lap 34 to regain the lead. While Leclerc was able to stay within a second of Antonelli for the next several laps, the speed of the Mercedes was too much for the Ferrari and Antonelli was able to hold on for his sixth win of the season.
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium has been known since its conception in 1921 as a challengingly long and fast race course. Still true today, F1 cars face the longest lap on the calendar at 4.352 miles, the fewest number of laps at just 44, and a relatively fast pace with cars averaging around 143 miles per hour.
The first official F1 race at Spa-Francorchamps was in 1950 on a version of the track that was nearly nine miles in length. After F1 drivers boycotted the race in 1969, several changes were made to the track, but not enough for F1 to continue using the track. Spa wouldn't return to the F1 calendar consistently until 1983 after it was heavily revised for safety.
Accidents this weekend by Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the second and third practice sessions, respectively, reminded everyone that this track is one that can still punish small mistakes. In the race itself, there was only one accident that led to a car retiring, and it happened on the very first lap.
Antonelli started on pole position with Max Verstappen's Red Bull in second, followed by Antonelli's teammate George Russell in third, Leclerc and Hamilton in fourth and fifth, and Oscar Piastri's McLaren in sixth. After the lights went out, Antonelli kept his lead for only a couple corners before Verstappen stormed back into the lead.
It was a short-lived gamble by Verstappen who was soon passed not only by Antonelli but also Leclerc. Russell seemed to be short on power compared to those around him as he was swarmed by both Ferraris and nearly passed by Piastri.
Staying to the outside of the track, Russell broke late, trying to gain positions back. Hamilton was in the dirty air behind Verstappen, refused to yield position, tried correcting his car when it was getting away from him, and ended up hitting the rear of Russell, spinning him into the gravel. Russell was beached and his race was over.
After a brief safety car period to retrieve Russell's stricken Mercedes, the racing resumed and positions normalized fairly quickly. Antonelli never broke away from the pack as people had expected, and it was relatively close-racing early throughout the field.
In the midfield, Pierre Gasly was the first person to pit, bringing his Alpine in on lap 14. Teams saw how quick he was managing to go in clean air and with new tires, so other teams reacted quickly. Verstappen brought his Red Bull in on lap 17 from second place. Antonelli responded by pitting from the lead on the next lap.
This left Leclerc in the lead and he decided to stay out a little longer instead of coming in around the same time as Antonelli. One of the motivating reasons for staying out was the fact they were making no real inroads on Antonelli's lead for the previous 18 laps and because there was the lurking chance of another safety car or virtual safety car.
As far as pit stops go, if cars are able to pit during a virtual safety car or full safety car, they save a lot of time because of the relative speed of the other cars. If it is a virtual safety car, drivers on a pit stop will save something around ten seconds as the cars on track are forced to maintain a slower pace. Pit stops under a full safety car save even more time as cars on track are required to go at the speed set by the pace car.
Earlier in the weekend, the race director made it clear to the teams and drivers they would not hesitate to call a safety car period if gravel was kicked up on the track by another car going off road. Keeping the racing lines clear is important, especially at a fast-pace track like Spa. On lap 20, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Piastri were all rewarded with a pit stop under a virtual safety car for that very reason.
Lando Norris originally qualified in third, but had to take a 10-place penalty because his team switched out his power unit for the fourth time this season. After the round of pit stops on lap 20, he found himself in the lead of the race. This didn't last long, however, as he stayed out for another 10 laps before pitting and several drivers were able to pass him on track with newer tires.
Leclerc stayed in the lead for several more laps before the speed of Antonelli's Mercedes proved too much, but he was able to finish in second behind Antonelli. Verstappen ended up having a mostly quiet race and got third position to round out the podium.
Hamilton overcame a 5-second penalty for taking Russell out of the race as well as a terrible pit stop that included him nearly running over one of his mechanics to still finish in fourth. Piastri finished in fifth, followed by Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar who had a stellar race, starting from 21st position. Norris finished in seventh, but said after the race he absolutely could've finished on the podium if the team pitted him on lap 20 with the other front runners.
Furthering the diversity of teams earning points in Belgium, Gabriel Bortoletto managed a back-to-back points finish in his Audi with eighth, Arvid Lindbland drove an excellent race to finish in ninth, and Franco Colapinto got his Alpine into tenth.
Antonelli's win coupled with Hamilton finishing in fourth and Russell out on the first lap has led to a large gap at the top of the Driver's Championship once again. A 45-point gap separates Antonelli from Hamilton, who has reclaimed second place, and Russell has doubled his gap to 50 points.
In just one week, F1 teams will be back on track, hungry for a win in Hungary. Aston Martin has an updated chassis coming, their first update of the season, as they hope to become relevant again. Meanwhile, at the front, the Mercedes duo hope to fight for a win while Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull are all hoping they will be holding the first-place trophy. Tune in to see what happens on Sunday, July 26, at 9 a.m. Eastern Time.