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| ● The Briefing · No. 07 |
Monday · 20 July 2026 |
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Paddock Notes
A field journal for motorsport
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Kimi Antonelli passed Charles Leclerc for the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix on lap 34 of 44 and won by 1.952 seconds. The result that mattered had been settled 33 laps earlier at the same corner. George Russell was hit mid-corner at Les Combes on the opening lap and beached in the gravel, out before the field had completed a racing lap. Lewis Hamilton took five seconds for it, finished fourth, and leaves Belgium second in the championship, 45 points behind the man who won. Antonelli’s sixth win of 2026 is his first in four rounds.
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Estonia produced the World Rally Championship’s 83rd different winner, and its third first-time winner in six years. Sami Pajari led Delfi Rally Estonia from the first stage to the last, won 12 of them, and beat Oliver Solberg by 19.5 seconds. Elfyn Evans swept gravel on Friday, finished sixth, and left with a larger lead anyway, 25 points clear of Takamoto Katsuta. At Spa, Rafael Câmara turned a fourth pole of the season into a second Formula 2 feature win, 5.458 seconds clear of Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, and Invicta took both races after Joshua Dürksen held on to win Saturday’s sprint.
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The logbook · weekend results
| F1 |
Belgian Grand Prix · K. Antonelli, Mercedes |
+1.952s |
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| WRC |
Delfi Rally Estonia · S. Pajari, Toyota |
+19.5s |
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| F2 |
Spa feature · R. Câmara, Invicta |
+5.458s |
| Spa sprint · J. Dürksen, Invicta |
| Championship leaders · Antonelli 204 in F1 · Tsolov 161 in F2 · Evans in WRC |
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| The Editor |
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Teams & Business · F1 · 20 July |
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Teams & Business · F1 · 20 July
McLaren picked which race to lose, and picked Spa
Norris qualified third and started 13th after a fourth power electronics unit went in, past his season allocation. The first failed in China, the second was withdrawn in Japan. The 10-place penalty was a calendar calculation taken in advance, not a surprise on Saturday.
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In the margins · Next out
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Paddock Notes
“It’s something so amazing, maybe I didn’t really realise what I’ve just done.”
Sami Pajari, Delfi Rally Estonia, 19 July 2026
That was Spa, and we are glad you read it with us. The Hungaroring is six days out. See you next Monday.
A Leetone Enterprises publication · Denver, Colorado
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