Antonelli near-perfect but too much drama for Hamilton - driver ratings

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli returned to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix with victory from pole position at Spa-Francorchamps.

The Mercedes driver is now 45 points clear of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton at the top of the standings after team-mate George Russell was involved in a collision with Hamilton, who finished fourth, on the opening lap.

Russell falls to third in the championship, 50 points adrift of Antonelli.

Here are my ratings for how the drivers performed across the whole weekend in Belgium.

Kimi Antonelli - 9.5/10

A near-perfect weekend from Mercedes' championship leader. Topped two out of the three practice sessions and delivered pole position by more than three-tenths of a second. Recovered from an unfortunately timed virtual safety car to pass Charles Leclerc and win.

Charles Leclerc - 8.5/10

Maximised what Ferrari had and came closer than anyone to denying Antonelli the race win. Benefited from the virtual safety car but kept the Mercedes driver honest after losing the lead, although the contact with Oscar Piastri was an untidy moment.

Max Verstappen - 8/10

A brilliant start briefly put him into the lead and he comfortably secured another podium for Red Bull. Qualified on the front row and drove a strong race, but ultimately couldn't match Antonelli when it mattered.

Lewis Hamilton - 6/10

Plenty of pace but far too much drama. Recovered from his heavy final-practice crash and the penalty for hitting George Russell to finish fourth, but an overall messy Sunday prevented this from being rated as a strong weekend.

Oscar Piastri - 6.5/10

Had damage after the contact with Leclerc but remained in the fight and brought home a useful fifth place. Losing fourth to Hamilton late on capped a weekend in which he never quite looked as comfortable as McLaren team-mate Lando Norris.

Isack Hadjar - 9/10

One of the drives of the race. Charged from 21st on the grid to sixth with an aggressive strategy and held off Norris at the finish to secure a huge result for Red Bull.

Lando Norris - 7.5/10

Qualifying third showed the McLaren had real pace, although his final Q3 mistake cost him the chance to challenge Antonelli. Recovered well from his grid penalty but a long first stint and slow pit stop left him just short of Hadjar.

Gabriel Bortoleto - 8/10

Another excellent weekend for the Audi driver. Reached Q3, stayed out of trouble and converted eighth on the grid into a second consecutive points finish.

Arvid Lindblad - 7.5/10

A strong qualifying performance put him eighth and he delivered another mature drive into the points. Racing Bulls had one of the quickest midfield cars, but Lindblad still had to hold his nerve to make the most of it.

Franco Colapinto - 8/10

Excellent work to claim the final point. Produced a decisive move during the three-way battle with Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson and once again got the better of his more experienced Alpine team-mate.

Pierre Gasly - 5.5/10

The crash in practice compromised the start of his weekend and he narrowly missed out on points on Sunday. Qualified ahead of Colapinto but losing 10th to his team-mate made it a disappointing result.

Liam Lawson - 6/10

Looked set for a good haul of points after running sixth during the opening stages. His attempt to pass Gasly allowed Colapinto through and he eventually slipped to 12th, behind Racing Bulls team-mate Lindblad.

Nico Hulkenberg - 5.5/10

Was involved in the fight for the final point but couldn't convert it into a top-10 finish. Being comfortably out-qualified and outscored by Audi team-mate Bortoleto takes the shine off his afternoon.

Oliver Bearman - 5.5/10

Missed a place in Q2 by only 0.033 seconds but never really threatened the points in the race. A largely anonymous weekend for the Haas driver.

Alex Albon - 5.5/10

Williams lacked competitiveness throughout the weekend but Albon at least led the team home. Finished ahead of Carlos Sainz after starting behind him, although 15th offered little reward.

Carlos Sainz - 4.5/10

His grid penalty and early damage made this a difficult race to judge. Was unhappy with Williams' decision to change his front wing and eventually finished behind team-mate Albon.

Esteban Ocon - 3.5/10

A poor weekend from the Haas driver. Qualified 18th and separate first-lap incidents with Sainz and team-mate Bearman resulted in a puncture and left him near the back.

Valtteri Bottas - 5/10

The only Cadillac driver to reach the chequered flag but there wasn't much else to celebrate. Qualified ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez and kept the car clean, although he finished a lap down.

Fernando Alonso - 4/10

Another grim weekend for Aston Martin. Started last after a grid penalty and finished two laps behind the winner, with little evidence that the car was capable of fighting anyone.

Lance Stroll - 3.5/10

Qualified on the final row before his penalty and retired with a suspected gearbox problem. The machinery did him no favours, but there were few positives before his race came to an end.

Sergio Perez - 4/10

Outqualified by team-mate Bottas and retired after reporting a suspension problem. Another difficult weekend for Perez and Cadillac with virtually no opportunity to show competitive pace.

George Russell - 6.5/10

A desperately unfortunate end to a troubling weekend. Did well to qualify fourth despite his unexplained straight-line speed deficit, before a battery problem left him vulnerable to Hamilton and the resulting collision ended his race on the first lap.