How many ‘overtakes’ in just a few hundred meters
It is well known that the start of the Belgian GP ‘ends’ only when the group passes the Les Combes chicane at the end of the Kemmel straight, but with the 2026 F1 cars it went further. The positions, in fact, changed several times in the section immediately after La Source up to Les Combes.
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Max Verstappen overtook Andrea Kimi Antonelli before Eau Rouge, then the Mercedes driver gave the overtake back on the Kemmel straight and Charles Leclerc also came like a rocket, moving from fourth to second position.
The Red Bull driver described these hectic moments like this: “The start? Clearly I used too much battery on the descent leading to Eau Rouge, when I saw the battery level just arriving on the Kemmel I understood that it would be about staying ahead until Les Combes”.
“Antonelli overtook me – added Verstappen – but then I saw a red missile coming in the mirrors. I stayed still because I thought that if I had moved Leclerc would have taken off, the speed differences with these batteries are incredible and then from one moment to the next you can have sudden problems or deployment differences. Welcome to F1 2026, sometimes it’s a jungle”.
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