Antonelli measured his tempo fastidiously within the opening stint, taking care of his tyres, till being instructed to hurry up as his pit cease loomed.
Over the course of lap 17, he demonstrated how a lot tempo he had in hand when he prolonged his lead over Verstappen from 2.3 seconds to three.5, earlier than pitting on the next lap.
Two laps later, although, a digital security automotive (VSC) interval for some particles on monitor gave Leclerc an affordable pit cease – it prices practically half as a lot race time to cease below a security automotive than below green-flag situations – and Leclerc was capable of cease for contemporary tyres and rejoin nonetheless in entrance of Antonelli.
Norris by this level was within the lead, however Leclerc quickly handed the McLaren on lap 26, and it was now a query as to how lengthy it will take Antonelli to shut the three-second hole to the Ferrari.
Antonelli was on his tail eight laps later and handed the Ferrari up the Kemmel straight on lap 34.
Leclerc was ready to stick with Antonelli, whose lead by no means went over two seconds, and there was additional stress from the actual fact the Mercedes driver was on the cusp of a five-second penalty for exceeding monitor limits too many occasions.
However Antonelli calmly stored issues below management to cross the road slightly below two seconds forward and retake management of the championship.
It was his first win since Monaco in early June, after a retirement in Spain, a 3rd in Austria and a end out of the factors on the British Grand Prix.
Ferrari confirmed higher race tempo than anticipated and Leclerc’s second place was a formidable efficiency on the again of his win at Silverstone, which was helped by a part failure on Antonelli’s Mercedes.
Leclerc rode his luck by escaping a penalty for squeezing Oscar Piastri because the McLaren attacked him through the first stint, however an achieved drive confirmed his revival after a sticky interval over the early summer time races.
Hamilton, although, was within the wars. The incident with Russell secured him a five-second penalty to be added at his pit cease, and when he did are available in for contemporary tyres, he was launched earlier than all of the mechanics had moved out of the way in which.
Hamilton hit the mechanic on the entrance proper tyre as he accelerated away, instantly radioing to examine he was OK, which was confirmed by the workforce.
That incident will probably be investigated after the race, so one other potential penalty hangs over Hamilton.
Hamilton, additional exasperated when Ferrari failed so as to add the entrance wing he had needed on the pit cease, recovered nicely from his delay to catch and go McLaren’s Oscar Piastri for fourth, behind Verstappen, who consolidated third regardless of complaining his second set of tyres had no grip.
Norris drove expertly by means of the primary stint, coolly transferring by means of the midfield to problem the highest automobiles and take the lead as they pitted.
He was on target to probably problem the Ferraris on his alternate technique of beginning on the arduous tyres relatively than the mediums till the VSC.
He needed to keep out as a result of it was the fallacious time to alter tyres, the mediums too marginal to the top.
And that meant he misplaced a variety of time to the leaders as they caught him after their stops.
First Leclerc, then Antonelli and eventually Verstappen handed him and he was solely simply forward of Piastri – and being warned to not waste race time by racing him – when he lastly stopped on lap 30, with 14 to go.
Norris was capable of go Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto for seventh however ran out of time to get Purple Bull’s Isack Hadjar in sixth, crossing the road 0.7secs adrift of the Frenchman.
Racing Bulls’ British rookie Arvid Lindblad was ninth with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto taking the ultimate level in tenth.
