Leclerc wins maiden F1 race at Spa

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Charles Leclerc just held off Lewis Hamilton to win the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, securing the first victory of his Formula One career and ending Ferrari's long wait for a win.

Hamilton was within one second of Leclerc on the final lap, but the 21-year-old from Monaco held his nerve.

"He was catching very quickly so I had quite a bit of pressure," Leclerc said after his win.

He dedicated it to French driver Anthoine Hubert, who died on Saturday following a heavy crash during an F2 race held on the same track. Drivers paid their respects on Sunday.

Moments after winning, Leclerc pointed to the sky and then to Hubert's name written on the side of his car.

Hamilton extended his championship lead because his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas was third, finishing ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari had not won since former driver Kimi Raikkonen's victory at the United States GP last October.

Vettel is 21 races without a win since last season's Belgian GP as his miserable form continued.

"I gave it absolutely everything," Hamilton said. "It was a difficult race. I got as close as I could but maybe I needed another couple of laps."

On the last lap, Alfa Romeo's Antonio Giovinazzi crashed out but Leclerc kept his focus.

"He had that win coming," Hamilton said of Leclerc, who had taken his third pole position of the season, with his teammate Vettel starting from second on the grid ahead of Hamilton and Bottas.

Ferrari topped all three practice sessions and all three sections of qualifying, with Leclerc beating Vettel in five of them in sunny and warm conditions.

But as is the often the case in Spa, which is located in the Ardennes forest, the weather can change quickly and temperatures cooled significantly, grey clouds rolled overhead, and drops of rain fell before the race. Two hours later, the sun was out and the 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) track - the longest in F1 - was dry again.

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