Shaheen Wins the First: A Spa Thriller Opens ISL Season 1

Season 1 · Round 1 · Belgian Grand Prix · Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps · 18 July 2026 · Dry, late rain

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The first race in ISL history is behind us — and it delivered everything the merger promised. On a dry Spa that saved its sting for the finish, Youssef Shaheen turned P3 on the grid into the league's first-ever win, headlining a race defined not by chaos but by clean, hard, wheel-to-wheel racing from the front of the field to the back of the points. Shaheen takes the win, Shaul Ezra the pole and second, and Idan Turjeman the final podium spot. Seventeen cars, a late-race downpour that put everyone on a knife-edge, and not one case for the stewards.

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The Fight for the Lead — Stint One Was Everything

The story of the race was written in the opening stint, and it was a proper three-way brawl. Shaul Ezra converted pole into the early lead, but nothing stayed settled for long: Ezra, Idan Turjeman and Youssef Shaheen swapped places again and again through the first stint, trading the lead through Spa's fast complexes and down the Kemmel Straight — all of it without a hint of contact.

Then the race turned on strategy. Shaheen blinked first in the pit lane — and it paid off: by stopping before both of his rivals, he nailed the undercut, using fresh rubber to vault ahead. Turjeman rolled the dice the other way, running an alternate strategy and betting on rain arriving earlier than it eventually did. When Ezra finally made his own stop, he rejoined to find Shaheen already significantly up the road — a gap that was never coming back. Shaheen managed it home for the win, adding fastest lap and Driver of the Day; Ezra took second from pole; and Turjeman's gamble still delivered third — a front-row-to-podium result and a statement start for the Williams squad.

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Beyond the Podium — Where the Race Was Really Won

• Eden Azran was the nearly-man of the podium fight, holding fourth from fourth on the grid — first of the chasers and quietly one of the drives of the day.
• Kelly Aiche took fifth and the unofficial "best of the rest" honours, converting his grid slot into a clean, points-rich afternoon.
• The midfield scrap was the heartbeat of the race. Harel Ben Harosh climbed to sixth (+1) and Dan Radia to seventh (+1), both making their moves stick, while Nitzan Alon slipped to eighth after a busy fight in the pack.
• Zakai Ehud was the standout climber inside the points, carving from eleventh to ninth to grab the final championship points on debut weekend.

Right through the order the theme was the same: hard racing, respected space, and results earned on merit.

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Dry All Day — Until Spa Bit Back

Qualifying and the bulk of the race played out bone dry, which is exactly what let the racing stay so close: consistent grip, tyres in the window, and energy deployment down the long straights as the main variable under the new engine rules. Then, in the closing laps, the rain arrived — and with the whole field committed to slicks, nobody blinked to pit. The final tour became a proper high-wire act: almost no grip, every braking zone a gamble, and drivers nursing cars that suddenly wanted to let go at every corner. That anyone kept it clean through that finish is the real headline.

Despite the late-race tension, it was a model opener: no safety car, no retirements on track, and zero steward penalties across all seventeen entries. Only Gadi Roz was a non-starter (DNS). For a first outing under a brand-new regulation set and a freshly merged grid, it doesn't get much cleaner — on track and behind the scenes alike.

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Classification — Belgian Grand Prix

Pos	Driver	Team	Grid	Pts	Notes
1	Youssef Shaheen	McLaren	3	24	Win, Fastest Lap, DOTD
2	Shaul Ezra	Red Bull	1	20	Pole
3	Idan Turjeman	Williams	2	17	Podium
4	Eden Azran	Aston Martin	4	14	—
5	Kelly Aiche	Racing Bulls	5	12	Best of the rest
6	Harel Ben Harosh	Alpine	7	10	+1
7	Dan Radia	McLaren	8	8	+1
8	Nitzan Alon	Cadillac	6	6	−2
9	Zakai Ehud	Williams	11	4	+2
10	Guy Rapke	Ferrari	10	3	—
11	Dvir Badash	Ferrari	9	2	−2
12	Ricardo Pericao	Audi	13	1	+1
13	Tal Cohen	Aston Martin	12	0	—
14	Tamir Ziv	Alpine	14	0	—
15	Asaf Ben Lulu	Mercedes	17	0	+2
16	Uri Ron	Red Bull	16	0	—
—	Gadi Roz	Racing Bulls	15	0	DNS

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Championship — After Round 1

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Youssef Shaheen	24
2	Shaul Ezra	20
3	Idan Turjeman	17

Twelve rounds to go, and the united league already has its first winner, its first pole and its first podium on the board. Shaheen sets the early pace — but with the smallest of gaps at the front and a midfield this tight, the fight is only getting started.

See you on the grid for Round 2.