F1 standings: How the World Drivers' Championship picture looks after Belgian Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli stretched his lead at the top of the world championship standings as he won the Belgian Grand Prix, earning his sixth victory of the season, and in the process, claimed maximum points.

This has allowed him to stretch the gap to his closest challenger, Lewis Hamilton, to 45 points after the Ferrari driver climbed above George Russell by five points thanks to his fourth-place finish at Spa.

Russell had a nightmare as he saw his hopes in the world championship fight take a bruising hit as he had to retire on the first lap after a collision with Hamilton, which saw the Ferrari driver punished with a five-second penalty.

Charles Leclerc finished second in the race to build on his victory at Silverstone last time out, keeping his faint championship hopes alive.

While finishing on the final podium position was four-time world champion Max Verstappen, which has helped him climb above Oscar Piastri in the standings.

F1 Drivers' Championship standings

1. Kimi Antonelli - 204 - (Mercedes)

2. Lewis Hamilton - 159 - (Ferrari)

3. George Russell - 154 - (Mercedes)

4. Charles Leclerc - 126 - (Ferrari)

5. Lando Norris - 103 - (McLaren)

6. Oscar Piastri - 92 - (McLaren)

7. Max Verstappen - 88 - (Red Bull)

8. Isack Hadjar - 60 - (Red Bull)

9. Pierre Gasly - 42 - (Alpine)

10. Liam Lawson - 39 - (Racing Bulls)

11. Arvid Lindblad - 22 - (Racing Bulls)

12. Franco Colapinto - 19 - (Alpine)

13. Oliver Bearman - 18 - (Haas)

14. Gabriel Bortoleto - 10 - (Audi)

15. Carlos Sainz - 6 - (Williams)

16. Alexander Albon - 5 - (Williams)

17. Esteban Ocon - 3 - (Haas)

18. Fernando Alonso - 1 - (Aston Martin)

19. Nico Hulkenberg - 0 - (Audi)

20. Valtteri Bottas - 0 - (Cadillac)

21. Sergio Perez - 0 - (Cadillac)

22. Lance Stroll - 0 - (Aston Martin)

How the F1 standings changed after the Belgian Grand Prix

Risers –

Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 3^rd to 2^nd

Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 13^th to 12^th

Fallers -

George Russell (Mercedes) – 2^nd to 3^rd

How are F1 points awarded?

Drivers can collect points that go toward their World Championship tally, collecting them in both the sprint race and the Grand Prix main race.

The winner of a sprint race will be awarded eight points, with there being only six of these events across the calendar in 2026, with points being awarded to the top eight drivers.

Meanwhile, the driver that finishes first at the end of the main race will be awarded 25 points, with second earning 18 and third getting a total of 15. Points will be awarded to the top 10 drivers to finish the race.

Sprint Race –

1^st – 8

2^nd – 7

3^rd – 6

4^th – 5

5^th – 4

6^th – 3

7^th – 2

8^th – 1

Main Race –

1^st - 25

2^nd - 18

3^rd - 15

4^th - 12

5^th - 10

6^th - 8

7^th - 6

8^th - 4

9^th - 2

10^th - 1

Who can still win the F1 Championship?

While we are nearing the mid-point of the World Championship with 10 of the 22 Grand Prixes for the 2026 season completed, there is an argument that can be made that mathematically anyone can still win the Drivers’ Championship.

However, realistically we could only look at the current holder of the championship, Lando Norris, who currently occupies fifth, as having any chance of winning the title this campaign from an outsider perspective.

The Brit would be a shock contender, but with the gap being 101 points with 12 races left, it is possible things could miraculously go his way.

Yet, at present the favourite for the title is Kimi Antonelli, who leads the championship with 204 points, a gap of 50 points to his Mercedes teammate, George Russell.

The pair have dominated the races this season, winning seven of the 10 Grand Prixs, with the Italian claiming five victories to the Brit’s two.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s driving pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will believe they do have a realistic chance of winning the title after their most recent upgrades.

Hamiliton is just 49 points behind leader Antonelli, while Leclerc is a further 29 behind his teammate, so both will believe they can close the gap to the Mercedes driver to make the end of the season an interesting battle for the title.

What happens if two drivers are level on points in the F1 standings?

The answer lies in the tie-breaking countback system that prioritises race victories above all else., so whoever has won the most Grand Prixs will secure the title; however, sprints are not considered.

If that tally remains equal, second-place finishes would be counted, followed by third-place finishes, and so on, continuing down the finishing positions until a difference emerges.