Winners and losers from the Belgian Grand Prix

Spa’s result sheet tells only part of the story. Kimi Antonelli’s result and George Russell’s misfortune grabbed the loudest headlines, but the more useful weekend verdict is about who actually emerged strengthened and who left exposed once the full Belgian Grand Prix picture was in view.

Antonelli clearly belongs in the winners column. The Race and Motorsport.com both frame him as one of the main beneficiaries of the Belgian Grand Prix, and Motorsport.com notes that one week on from his trouble in the previous race, the tables turned in the Ardennes hills. A strong Spa result is always meaningful because the circuit punishes even small errors, and this one gives Antonelli a much cleaner sense of momentum going forward. It is not just that he came out of the weekend positively; it is that he did so on a weekend where the attention could easily have been swallowed by the front-running drama and still came away with the most valuable headline of all.

Mercedes, though, left Spa with a more complicated balance sheet. The team had pace to show for itself, but Russell’s side of the garage was hit by a lap-one clash and a deployment problem that Mercedes said affected all of its cars. That is a very different kind of weekend from a straightforward dominance story. It suggests speed was present, but so were operational issues and fragility under pressure. Even a strong result does not fully erase the frustration when another car is compromised so early, especially in a race where the fine margins can decide whether a team leaves with confidence or questions.

The more intriguing part of the weekend may have been unfolding away from the front of the field. The Race explicitly says the leaders took attention away from “fascinating stories through the field,” and Motorsport.com adds that some of Mercedes’ closest rivals arrived with improved performance to give the 2026 season a little more zest. That is the kind of development that matters over a longer campaign. It means the competitive picture is not settling down neatly around one dominant storyline. Instead, there are signs of movement behind the headline names, with rivals making gains that could alter the rhythm of the season even if they did not dominate the broadcast coverage in Belgium.