Live: Teenage sensation Antonelli looking to extend F1 lead in Belgian GP

Teenage sensation Kimi Antonelli looks to extend his lead at the top of the F1 Drivers' Championship standings, as he starts from pole position at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.Oscar Piastri starts from sixth, while McLaren teammate Lando Norris will have ground to make up with a grid penalty demoting him from third to 13th.Follow all the action in our live blog below.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:04pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:04pmBelgian Grand Prix underwayAnd Max Verstappen takes an early lead!Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:03pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:03pmRain on formation lapOscar Piastri is the first driver to report light rain as the drivers approach their grid positions.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:01pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 11:01pmFORMATION LAP: Mostly medium tires on showThere's a mixture of tires on show as the formation lap gets underway.Most drivers have gone for medium, but five (Norris, Perez, Hadjar, Stroll and Alonso) have opted for hards, while Sainz and Bottas are using softs.The clouds look to be getting a little heavier...Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:50pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:50pmNorris 'optimistic' despite grid penaltyLando Norris was very sharp yesterday, finishing third in qualifying, but will start from 13th today due to a grid penalty received for fitting an upgraded power electronics unit, taking him over the three changes allowed for the season."I would've loved to start in P3, cause I think P3 is a good place to start with such a long rundown to turn five," Norris said pre-race today."But we'll take it on the chin and still excited for today, we can still have fun, still put some good overtakes in, and I think we can still get a good result today."I don't know how far up the order we can get, but we're optimistic."Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:47pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:47pmPiastri excited to return to 'awesome' and 'unique' trackDrivers love Spa.It's such a picturesque, dramatic setting, allowing for some serious drama and chopping and changing in positions amongst the trees.Here's what Oscar Piastri has to say about the track, where he won one of his seven GPs in 2025."There's a lot of cool stuff about it," Piastri said. "The location is pretty unique - in the middle of the forest, a lot of elevation change, a lot of unique corners as well, maybe some of them aren't quite they used to be this year, but it's just an awesome track. "Overtaking usually has been pretty good here."Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:45pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:45pmPiastri realistic about catching MercedesOscar Piastri starts in sixth today, and speaking pre-race, says he has realistic expectations for what he can achieve in Belgium, with championship-leading Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in another league at the moment."I think hopefully with Ferrari we can do something and with Max as well, we'll have to wait and see," Piastri said."We're in a different category to Mercedes at the moment, but we'll see what we can do."The first lap could be interesting so hopefully we can get involved."Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:44pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:44pmWeather forecast looking pretty good, for what it's worth(Getty Images)It's looking pretty overcast and nippy in Belgium at the moment, with temperatures hovering in the mid-teens.There is the slight chance of showers, but things should stay dry.But as we know, things can change pretty quickly at Spa.And there are some pretty ominous clouds hanging on the horizon.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:41pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:41pmThe circuit(F1.com)44 7.004km laps of madness await at Spa.Featuring the iconic Eau Rouge corner early in the circuit, this is traditionally a track that sees plenty of overtaking and jostling for position, set to one of the most evocative backdrops in the entirety of the F1 world.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:38pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:38pmA nice birthday presented for Mr AntonelliChampionship leader Kimi Antonelli clinched his fifth pole of the season yesterday and dedicated it to his father, Marco, who was celebrating his 62nd birthday."Let's go, man, let's go," he said over the radio. "Happy birthday Dad."Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:35pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:35pmNorris hit with 10-place grid penalty(Getty Images)With APLando Norris finished third in qualifying yesterday, but a 10-place grid penalty means the McLaren driver will start in 13th.Norris is paying the price for poor reliability earlier in the season of the electronics which manage his car’s hybrid power systems.Fitting an upgraded power electronics unit supplied by Mercedes with what McLaren called “a series of reliability fixes” took Norris over his allowance of three for the season and triggered the penalty.Norris lost two of the units to failures, including a breakdown which left him unable to start the Chinese Grand Prix.McLaren said it picked Belgium to use the new unit because it’s relatively easy to overtake at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, meaning Norris has a better chance of making up at least some of the places he’ll lose.Norris is fifth in the standings, 82 points off leader Kimi Antonelli.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:30pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:30pmCan Piastri rediscover his best at Spa?(Getty Images)Things haven't been straightforward for Oscar Piastri in 2026.After seven GP triumphs in 2025, the Australian has made the podium just twice in nine attempts so far this season, having failed to start in consecutive races to start the year.Spa might be as good a track as any to rediscover some form.He, of course, claimed victory in Belgium last year, finishing ahead of teammate Lando Norris to become the first McLaren driver since 2012 to win the Grand Prix.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:20pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:20pmToday's starting grid(F1 Twitter)Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:20pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:20pmF1 Championship standings ahead of the Belgian GP Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) 179ptsGeorge Russell (Mercedes) 154ptsLewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 147pts Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 108ptsLando Norris (McLaren) 97ptsOscar Piastri (McLaren) 82ptsMax Verstappen (Red Bull) 76ptsIsack Hadjar (Red Bull) 52ptsPierre Gasly (Alpine) 42ptsLiam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 39ptsArvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) 20ptsOliver Bearman (Haas) 18ptsFranco Colapinto (Alpine) 18ptsGabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 6ptsCarlos Sainz Jr. (Williams) 6ptsAlexander Albon (Williams) 5ptsEsteban Ocon (Haas) 3ptsFernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1ptNico Hulkenberg (Audi) 0ptsValtteri Bottas (Cadillac) 0ptsSergio Perez (Cadilac) 0ptsLance Stroll (Aston Martin) 0ptsSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:15pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:15pmWhat happened in qualifying?Teen sensation Kimi Antonelli overcame a clever piece of teamwork from Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar to claim pole, while Oscar Piastri finished in seventh but will start today's race in sixth with teammate Lando Norris serving a grid penalty.Norris was demoted from third to 13th due to McLaren replacing an electric part in his car.Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:10pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:10pmWhat time does the Belgian GP start?The Belgian GP begins at 3pm local time, which is:11pm AEST (NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, ACT)10:30pm ACST (South Australia, Northern Territory)9pm AWST (Western Australia)Sun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:03pmSun 19 Jul 2026 at 10:03pmHello!Good evening everyone and welcome to ABC Sport's online coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix.Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most iconic tracks in the F1 world, forested and evocative, and featuring the famous Le Raidillon de l'Eau Rouge turns.We have 44 laps of madness ahead of us, with Kimi Antonelli looking to continue his remarkable rise from pole position and Oscar Piastri in need of something special to defend his Belgian triumph from last year.My name's Henry, and in the absence of our F1 MVP Mick Doyle, I look forward to guiding you through all the action.