Leclerc believed in Belgian GP win ‘until the end’.
Charles Leclerc missed out on a second consecutive Formula 1 victory, but the Ferrari driver left the Belgian Grand Prix convinced that a win was within reach right until the final laps of the race.
19/07/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
“I believed in the win until the end,” Charles Leclerc admitted after the race. “We had a little bit of luck obviously with the VSC at the right time for us but the pace was relatively strong. There's been some five, six laps on the hard where I've been struggling with the front axle and then it came back a little bit,” Leclerc explained.
“I felt better with the car, there's still some work to do but surely it's a step forward.” For Ferrari, Spa represented another sign that the team is moving in the right direction. For Leclerc, it was proof that even when victory slips away, the fight is far from over.
‘Until the end’;
f1i.com
Vasseur reacts to Ferrari's Belgian GP performance
19 Jul 2026
Formula One - Official Site
Fred Vasseur admits that Ferrari were "not expecting this kind of result" in the Belgian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing second and Lewis Hamilton just missing out on the podium. "I think overall, it's a very strong result for the team. We were not expecting this kind of result at Silverstone and Spa due to the layout of the track," Ferrari Team Principal Vasseur told F1 TV afterwards.
"We had good results. I think overall as a team, we did a good job with execution, good strategy, good pit stop. I think on the chassis side we are doing a strong job, we are bringing upgrades. It's paying off, small steps but small step by small step, we are catching up."
"Not expecting this kind of result";
www.formula1.com
Leclerc “confident I’ve made a step forward” after back-to-back podiums
19th July 2026
Will Wood
RaceFans
I’m confident in saying that I made a step forward,” Charles Leclerc said after the race. “Whether I’m at the level where I want to perform, not yet.
“There are still things in the car that I need to drive around. I cannot drive completely naturally, and that is slowing me down in some parts of the race. So, there are still things that I’ve got to work on in order to be better. But surely it was a step forward, and for that I’m happy.
“|I’ll continue with the one-race-at-a-time approach because, with these cars, it’s very difficult to be confident that if one race weekend goes well, the other one will, because it relies on such small details. With what you do with your driving, it’s never a given that you get the same deployment from one lap to the other, and that’s maybe the frustrating bit about these cars.” Leclerc admitted at the start of the weekend he expected to be “very far back, maybe to the extent of four or five tenths” a lap around Spa-Francorchamps.
“In qualifying, that was true, but in the race we were a bit closer than we thought,” Leclerc said. “So, it’s been positive. I think on two tracks which, on paper, were quite bad for us, we won and we finished second, with a little bit of luck, but still, I think it was a good effort from the team. On two tracks that didn’t fit our car particularly well, we’ve scored good points.”
“Confident”;
Piastri questions no penalty call after Leclerc clash
Oscar Piastri has questioned the decision not to penalise Charles Leclerc after their Belgian Grand Prix contact left his McLaren damaged on the way to fifth place.
20 Jul 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
Charles Leclerc was investigated by the stewards but escaped punishment, leaving Piastri surprised after he felt there was nowhere for him to go as he attempted the move. “I lost the side board thing. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t call it a sideboard, that’s something you put in your hallway! But I lost parts of my car,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
“And I don’t know where I was supposed to go. So I was equally surprised that nothing came. But obviously it’s small contact which had big consequences for me. Could have had very big consequences for both of us. But it is what it is.”
‘No penalty call’;
speedcafe.com
EXPLAINED: Why did the FIA take no further action over Leclerc-Piastri collision at Spa?
20 Jul 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
"On the approach to Turn 5, Car 81 moved to overtake Car 16 on the outside. Car 81 had some overlap on Car 16 but the front axle of Car 81 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16 and there was no possibility of Car 81 completing an overtake from that position." The officials also rejected the suggestion that Leclerc had intentionally forced the McLaren off the circuit: "In the Stewards' determination, Car 16 did not deliberately crowd Car 81 off the edge of the track.
"Car 16 followed the racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up for Turn 5 and side-to-side contact occurred between the two cars." Having considered all the available evidence, the stewards concluded: "In the circumstances, the Stewards determined to take no further action."
‘EXPLAINED’;
Hamilton feared Ferrari mechanic was seriously hurt after Belgian GP pit stop scare
20 Jul 2026
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Having served a five-second penalty for colliding with George Russell on the opening lap, Hamilton was stationary for an extended period before receiving the electronic green light to leave his pit box.
However, one mechanic was still moving in to make an adjustment to Hamilton’s front wing. As Hamilton pulled away, his front wheel struck the mechanic, knocking him to the ground. The seven-time World Champion immediately braked, with the mechanic escaping unhurt. “****! Is he okay?” an alarmed Hamilton asked Ferrari over the radio. His race engineer, Carlo Santi, replied: “He’s okay. We are all okay.”
Explaining how the incident unfolded, the Briton said: “I’m looking at the lights, and I’m supposed to go when the car’s dropping. “And I went and then I saw him to my right, and I stopped as soon as I could. Luckily, he didn’t [get hurt]. All I could think at the time was back when Kimi did a leg and I was like, ‘Oh…’. That’s what I thought initially, but he got up and moved.”
“He’s okay. We are all okay”;
www.planetf1.com
The incredible Lewis Hamilton F1 stat that proves his Ferrari revival is real
Lewis Hamilton is having an impressive second F1 season with Ferrari.
21 Jul 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
We are not yet at the halfway mark of the 2026 Formula 1 season and Lewis Hamilton has already eclipsed his 2025 points total. A stat widely shared following last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix underlined Hamilton’s turnaround.
A fourth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps lifted Hamilton up to second place in the drivers’ world championship on 159 points, meaning he has scored more points in 10 races in 2026 than he did through the entire 24-round 2025 season, which he ended with just 156.
The 41-year-old Briton has credited ditching Ferrari’s simulator as being a key breakthrough behind his resurgence in form this season. Hamilton says steering clear of Ferrari’s simulator has helped his results “massively”. “I tried all last year with it, but as I said, when I was at Mercedes for the first few years I didn't use it. As it continued to develop, there was a point where we didn't use it,” Hamilton said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
‘Incredible Lewis Hamilton F1 stat’;
www.crash.net
Charles Leclerc missed out on a second consecutive Formula 1 victory, but the Ferrari driver left the Belgian Grand Prix convinced that a win was within reach right until the final laps of the race.
19/07/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com
“I believed in the win until the end,” Charles Leclerc admitted after the race. “We had a little bit of luck obviously with the VSC at the right time for us but the pace was relatively strong. There's been some five, six laps on the hard where I've been struggling with the front axle and then it came back a little bit,” Leclerc explained.
“I felt better with the car, there's still some work to do but surely it's a step forward.” For Ferrari, Spa represented another sign that the team is moving in the right direction. For Leclerc, it was proof that even when victory slips away, the fight is far from over.
‘Until the end’;
Leclerc believed in Belgian GP win ‘until the end’
Charles Leclerc left the Belgian Grand Prix convinced that a win was within reach right until the final laps of the race.
f1i.com
Vasseur reacts to Ferrari's Belgian GP performance
19 Jul 2026
Formula One - Official Site
Fred Vasseur admits that Ferrari were "not expecting this kind of result" in the Belgian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing second and Lewis Hamilton just missing out on the podium. "I think overall, it's a very strong result for the team. We were not expecting this kind of result at Silverstone and Spa due to the layout of the track," Ferrari Team Principal Vasseur told F1 TV afterwards.
"We had good results. I think overall as a team, we did a good job with execution, good strategy, good pit stop. I think on the chassis side we are doing a strong job, we are bringing upgrades. It's paying off, small steps but small step by small step, we are catching up."
"Not expecting this kind of result";
Vasseur reacts to Ferrari's Belgian GP performance
Fred Vasseur admits that Ferrari were "not expecting this kind of result" in the Belgian Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc finishing second and Lewis Hamilton just missing out on the podium.
www.formula1.com
Leclerc “confident I’ve made a step forward” after back-to-back podiums
19th July 2026
Will Wood
RaceFans
I’m confident in saying that I made a step forward,” Charles Leclerc said after the race. “Whether I’m at the level where I want to perform, not yet.
“There are still things in the car that I need to drive around. I cannot drive completely naturally, and that is slowing me down in some parts of the race. So, there are still things that I’ve got to work on in order to be better. But surely it was a step forward, and for that I’m happy.
“|I’ll continue with the one-race-at-a-time approach because, with these cars, it’s very difficult to be confident that if one race weekend goes well, the other one will, because it relies on such small details. With what you do with your driving, it’s never a given that you get the same deployment from one lap to the other, and that’s maybe the frustrating bit about these cars.” Leclerc admitted at the start of the weekend he expected to be “very far back, maybe to the extent of four or five tenths” a lap around Spa-Francorchamps.
“In qualifying, that was true, but in the race we were a bit closer than we thought,” Leclerc said. “So, it’s been positive. I think on two tracks which, on paper, were quite bad for us, we won and we finished second, with a little bit of luck, but still, I think it was a good effort from the team. On two tracks that didn’t fit our car particularly well, we’ve scored good points.”
“Confident”;
Piastri questions no penalty call after Leclerc clash
Oscar Piastri has questioned the decision not to penalise Charles Leclerc after their Belgian Grand Prix contact left his McLaren damaged on the way to fifth place.
20 Jul 2026
Ben Waterworth
Speedcafe
Charles Leclerc was investigated by the stewards but escaped punishment, leaving Piastri surprised after he felt there was nowhere for him to go as he attempted the move. “I lost the side board thing. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t call it a sideboard, that’s something you put in your hallway! But I lost parts of my car,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
“And I don’t know where I was supposed to go. So I was equally surprised that nothing came. But obviously it’s small contact which had big consequences for me. Could have had very big consequences for both of us. But it is what it is.”
‘No penalty call’;
Piastri questions no penalty call after Leclerc clash
The Australian was pressuring Leclerc for third during the opening stint when the pair made contact at Les Combes, with
speedcafe.com
EXPLAINED: Why did the FIA take no further action over Leclerc-Piastri collision at Spa?
20 Jul 2026
Balazs Szabo
F1 Technical
"On the approach to Turn 5, Car 81 moved to overtake Car 16 on the outside. Car 81 had some overlap on Car 16 but the front axle of Car 81 was not ahead of the front axle of Car 16 and there was no possibility of Car 81 completing an overtake from that position." The officials also rejected the suggestion that Leclerc had intentionally forced the McLaren off the circuit: "In the Stewards' determination, Car 16 did not deliberately crowd Car 81 off the edge of the track.
"Car 16 followed the racing line before the entry to Turn 5 by moving slightly to the left to open up for Turn 5 and side-to-side contact occurred between the two cars." Having considered all the available evidence, the stewards concluded: "In the circumstances, the Stewards determined to take no further action."
‘EXPLAINED’;
Hamilton feared Ferrari mechanic was seriously hurt after Belgian GP pit stop scare
20 Jul 2026
Michelle Foster
PlanetF1.com
Having served a five-second penalty for colliding with George Russell on the opening lap, Hamilton was stationary for an extended period before receiving the electronic green light to leave his pit box.
However, one mechanic was still moving in to make an adjustment to Hamilton’s front wing. As Hamilton pulled away, his front wheel struck the mechanic, knocking him to the ground. The seven-time World Champion immediately braked, with the mechanic escaping unhurt. “****! Is he okay?” an alarmed Hamilton asked Ferrari over the radio. His race engineer, Carlo Santi, replied: “He’s okay. We are all okay.”
Explaining how the incident unfolded, the Briton said: “I’m looking at the lights, and I’m supposed to go when the car’s dropping. “And I went and then I saw him to my right, and I stopped as soon as I could. Luckily, he didn’t [get hurt]. All I could think at the time was back when Kimi did a leg and I was like, ‘Oh…’. That’s what I thought initially, but he got up and moved.”
“He’s okay. We are all okay”;
Lewis Hamilton's first thought after Ferrari pit stop scare was Kimi Räikkönen
But who is to blame? Driver or team?
www.planetf1.com
The incredible Lewis Hamilton F1 stat that proves his Ferrari revival is real
Lewis Hamilton is having an impressive second F1 season with Ferrari.
21 Jul 2026
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net
We are not yet at the halfway mark of the 2026 Formula 1 season and Lewis Hamilton has already eclipsed his 2025 points total. A stat widely shared following last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix underlined Hamilton’s turnaround.
A fourth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps lifted Hamilton up to second place in the drivers’ world championship on 159 points, meaning he has scored more points in 10 races in 2026 than he did through the entire 24-round 2025 season, which he ended with just 156.
The 41-year-old Briton has credited ditching Ferrari’s simulator as being a key breakthrough behind his resurgence in form this season. Hamilton says steering clear of Ferrari’s simulator has helped his results “massively”. “I tried all last year with it, but as I said, when I was at Mercedes for the first few years I didn't use it. As it continued to develop, there was a point where we didn't use it,” Hamilton said ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
‘Incredible Lewis Hamilton F1 stat’;
The incredible Lewis Hamilton F1 stat that proves his Ferrari revival is real
Lewis Hamilton is having an impressive second F1 season with Ferrari.
www.crash.net
Verstappen Teases Norris about breaking the trophy again.
