Winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli admitted he never imagined such progress in just one year. Spa, the scene of his worst weekend in 2025, has become the place of his crowning achievement.
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The contrast is striking. Twelve months after experiencing one of the most difficult weekends of his young Formula 1 career, Kimi Antonelli won with authority the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix.
Author of the pole position and then the victory at Spa-Francorchamps, the Mercedes driver continues his exceptional season and now has a 45-point lead in the championship over his closest rival, Lewis Hamilton.
For the Italian, this success has a very special flavor.
“No, absolutely not. If you had asked me last year, I would have told you it was impossible.”
“I had probably hit rock bottom”
In 2025, Antonelli left Spa deeply affected.
Eliminated in Q1 and only sixteenth at the finish, he had gone through a very difficult weekend, which fueled doubts about his ability to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
The young Italian now acknowledges that this period was one of the most difficult of his career.
“Last year here, I had probably hit rock bottom. Mentally, it was a very tough weekend. This year, it was completely different.”
A victory far from easy
Even if the final result might suggest a controlled race, Antonelli assures that he had to fight until the end.
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After losing the lead of the race due to a Virtual Safety Car exploited by Ferrari, he had to catch up with Charles Leclerc before retaking the lead.
“It was a very contested race. The pace was much higher than in practice and it was not easy. Max was very fast during the first stint, then Charles also had an excellent pace with the hard tires.”
The Mercedes driver also highlights the performance differences between power units depending on the sections of the circuit.
“The energy deployment gaps between teams were very significant. We were very strong in some sectors, but weaker in others. Nothing was easy.”
Mercedes finally reaps the fruits of its work
Despite these difficulties, Antonelli managed the pressure to secure his sixth win of the season, confirming his status as championship leader.
“It really was not an easy race, but I am extremely happy with the result.”
In the space of a year, the Italian driver has thus gone from the deepest doubt to domination. A spectacular progression that confirms his change of dimension and now makes him the favorite to win his first Formula 1 world title.
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