Belgian GP: Kimi Antonelli expects 'not straightforward' Max Verstappen challenge in Spa-Francorchamps race start duel
Why Kimi Antonelli is not expecting to have things all his own way at Spa-Francorchamps in the race despite an impressive pole position ahead of Max Verstappen and George Russell; watch the Belgian GP on Sunday at 2pm with build-up from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1
Saturday 18 July 2026 20:00, UK
Kimi Antonelli admits starting Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix alongside Max Verstappen on the front row is "not going to be straightforward" at a track where holding pole position has often proved a poisoned chalice.
Mercedes' world championship-leading driver produced one of his most impressive qualifying performances of 2026 so far at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday to claim his sixth pole position in 10 races.
Antonelli beat Red Bull's Verstappen to the head of the grid by three tenths of a second while his advantage over Mercedes team-mate George Russell - who moved up one place to third courtesy of Lando Norris' engine penalty - by a full half a second.
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And while Antonelli, who was also fastest in the final two practice sessions, is now inevitably the big favourite to win the 44-lap Grand Prix and extend his 25-point title lead, he knows he first has to navigate the race start at a venue where none of the last four polesitters have gone on to win.
"With Max next to me it's not going to be straightforward," said Antonelli.
"It's going to be important to get a good start and then be ahead into Turn Five."
Why starting first might be a disadvantage for Antonelli
While the distance from the front row positions to the first corner, La Source, is particularly short in Belgium, it is the subsequent long 1.25-mile uphill run to the next significant braking zone at Turn Five - Les Combes - that traditionally makes the leading driver on lap one particularly vulnerable.
That largely flat-out run allows the chasing car to stay close through Eau Rouge and Raidillon to gain a top-speed-boosting slipstream down the Kemmel Straight, making an overtaking move on the approach to the Les Combes chicane a distinct possibly.
Indeed, the race lead has changed hands early on in each of the last three years at that point of the circuit.
Oscar Piastri won last season after passing McLaren team-mate Norris on the first racing lap in the wet, while a polesitting Charles Leclerc was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton on lap three in 2024. In 2023, Sergio Perez passed poleman Leclerc on the first lap.
"On pole here is great for Saturday but I'm not sure I'd want to be on pole going through Eau Rouge for the first time," said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff to Sky Sports F1 after qualifying.
"They're going to be breathing up [Antonelli's] neck."
But can Antonelli be beaten even if he loses the lead at start?
However, such has been Antonelli's prodigious speed so far this weekend around the sweeping Belgian lap through the Ardennes forest, the prospect of any of his rivals having the speed and car to deny the Italian a first win at Spa on outright pace appears anything but straightforward for them.
Still, since his stunning run of five race wins in succession between March and early June, the 19-year-old has gone three races without a victory, failing to score points at two of those events in a spell of Mercedes reliability misfortune which has seen his championship lead cut from 68 to just 25 points.
But Antonelli is optimistic he is in good shape to try extending that again in Sunday's contest.
"We try to get a good start and then pace [on Friday] seemed to be in a good place," he told Sky Sports F1.
"Of course, deg[radiation] is big, especially the left-hand side is struggling a lot in this track. But we try to get a good start and then hopefully we'll have a good pace and try off in the distance."
How do Verstappen and Russell rate their victory chances?
Verstappen, meanwhile, starts on the front row for just the third time this season.
After a difficult Silverstone weekend, which finished up with the Dutchman flying off the road late in the race and beached in the gravel trap, Red Bull have enjoyed an improved performance in Belgium so far.
However, Verstappen was certain he would not have qualified quite as high as second had he not benefitted from a tow at the end of Q3 from team-mate Isack Hadjar.
Given Antonelli's dominance of qualifying, Verstappen is not expecting to challenge the Mercedes driver for victory whatever happens on lap one.
Asked what could happen if he took the lead from Antonelli on the first lap, the three-time Belgian GP winner told Sky Sports F1: "He would just pass me on the straights.
"We are three tenths down in quail with a massive tow. So that's six tenths down in qualy, realistically. It's not a fight in the race."
He instead predicted that his race will be about "looking in the mirrors" with Russell in the second Mercedes and the two Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton directly behind him all likely rivals for at least second place.
Russell continues to experience what he has described as a mystifying straight-line speed deficit to his team-mate but hopes for a repeat of his better Sunday result compared to qualifying from Silverstone a fortnight ago.
He said: "Anything can happen but the truth is battling against my team-mate, who is such an incredible driver and doing such a great job at the moment, in the best of times is a tall order but I feel confident head to head I can achieve it.
"But when it feels like you are battling with one had behind your back, it's a challenge. But we had the issue in Silverstone and ended up P2 on the podium so I pray... I'm going to try and endure the pain of this issue tomorrow and hope for a great result and try to find a solution for next week [in Hungary]."
Sky Sports F1's Belgian GP schedule
Sunday July 19
7.30am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
10.45am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Belgian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Belgian GP reaction: Chequered Flag
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix with Sunday's race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
