Russell shockingly DQ’d from victory due to minimum weight violation after audacious one-stop strategy; teammate Hamilton elevated to win at Spa; Piastri P2, Norris P3 for McLaren; Verstappen recovers from P11 to P4

Mercedes’ George Russell appeared to ride an audacious one-stop tire strategy to victory over his teammate Lewis Hamilton in Sunday’s action packed Belgian Grand Prix. But the daring young English pilot was stripped of his win after post-race scrutineering discovered that his car was under the weight limit specified by the F1 regulations by 1.5 kilograms when properly drained of fuel. Ironically, it may have been due to Russell’s running the one-stopper, contrary to all the other drivers in the field, that contributed to enough rubber loss on his final set of Pirelli Hard tires to bring the car in under the limit. Additionally, the fact that there is no cool down lap at Spa, the longest track on the F1 calendar, during which drivers usually deliberately add spent rubber “marbles” back onto their tires to add weight, could have been a contributing factor. Either way, it was a stunning blow to young George after his fantastic gamble appeared to pay off, as well as team Mercedes as whole, which must shoulder the blame for the car coming in underweight regardless of any mitigating circumstances. And despite Hamilton, who drove an outstanding race of his own, being elevated to the victory, it cost the Silver Arrows a very valuable 1-2 finish and will leave a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth back at Brackley as the they and all the teams head into the long summer break.

George “Tyre Whisperer” Russell takes the chequered flag! 🏆

Talk about a strategy call! #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/oGiVPVz4Dr

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2024

With blue skies and sunshine bathing the famed Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Sunday after nothing but clouds and rain the previous two days, the teams were flying blind in terms of tire data heading into the Belgian Grand Prix. With all the teams projecting a two-stop race, the variables were which tires to start on and switch to and the major unknowns were the level of degradation over 44-laps with the track temps so much hotter than in practice and Qualifying.  The top ten runners all started on the Medium Pirellis except for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who chose the Hards to begin the race. P11 Max Verstappen, who was fastest in qualifying but was dropped ten places due to an engine component change, also started on Mediums and when the lights went out to start the Grand Prix, Verstappen shot himself up to P9 is short order, passing the Williams of Alexander Albon and the Alpine of Esteban Ocon in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile at the front, the pole-sitting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc got away cleanly, while Hamilton dispatched the lead Red Bull of Sergio Perez to quickly nab second place. McLaren’s Lando Norris, starting in P3, ran wide heading into Turn 1 and dropped a wheel into the gravel, costing him several places and teammate and last week’s race winner Oscar Piastri inherited third as a result.

The rear view from Leclerc’s car as Hamilton and Perez scrap for P2 ⚔️😮#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/8tAfi5BbPX

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2024

By Lap 3, Hamilton had already hunted down Leclerc and the Prancing Horse proved to be no match for the improved Silver Arrow in a straight line, the seven-time champion dispatching the Monegasque for the lead of the race while streaking down the Kemmel Straight. Things then settled down for a few laps as the teams calculated when to make their first stops for fresh rubber, with Verstappen and Russell diving to the pits on Lap 10 to try and make use of the powerful undercut strategy against their rivals, both drivers opting to doff their Mediums in favor of the Hard compound tires for the second stint. Hamilton pitted a lap later, along with P3 Piastri, handing the lead back to Leclerc briefly until Ferrari brought their point man in on Lap 12, all three contenders making the predicted Medium to Hard switch. Sainz then inherited the race lead from his teammate, with second place Norris making his stop on Lap 15, also swapping out his Mediums for Hards, while the Spaniard ran all the way to Lap 20 before finally making his first stop and utilizing the opposite strategy of Hards to Mediums.

The second stops came rather quickly for the most part, Perez pitting again on Lap 21 directly after being passed by Russell on track for P4. Leclerc ran to Lap 25 in an attempt to undercut Hamilton but he had a slightly slow 3.4-second stop while changing from Hards to Hards and when Hamilton came in a lap later, he made the same tire choice but cemented his advantage over Leclerc’s Ferrari thanks to a nifty 2.4-seconds spent stationary. The flurry of pit lane activity at the front continued, with both Verstappen and Sainz making their second stops on Lap 28, Sainz continuing to run the counter strategy by switching off his Mediums back onto Hards for the remainder of the race and Verstappen making the conventional Hard to Medium swap. Norris boxed a lap later, choosing another fresh set of Hards to finish out the race, while on track Perez let Verstappen by for P5 and a possible charge onto the podium for the Dutch Master. Piastri wound up being the last of the top ten to make his second stop on Lap 30 but the young Aussie almost ruined his race when he came into the box too hot and nearly knocked over his front jack man, who did fine work to absorb the impact, stay on his feet and hoist the car for service. The driver error resulted in a slow but not catastrophic 4.4 seconds stationary and he came back out in P5.

Meanwhile, Russell had inherited the lead after all was said and done and was insisting that his now 20-lap-old Hard tires could make it for the final fourteen circuits of the race. The Mercedes brain trust, to their credit, allowed the young Briton to execute the high risk gamble, perhaps feeling that running in clean air at the front might make up for any loss of performance due to tire degradation. His P2 teammate Hamilton looked to have the ultimate advantage on much fresher rubber, though, relentlessly closing up to within DRS range for the final five laps. Piastri, meanwhile, was closing in on both and looking to pick up any pieces as they squabbled, having dispatched Leclerc for P3 back on Lap 36. But Russell was able to hold off Hamilton’s best efforts and Lewis raced wisely enough not to throw away both their races with any desperate lunges for the lead. It all seemed like a dream finish when Russell came to the checkers still in first place and claim victory over his teammate and lead home a Mercedes 1-2. But the technical violation afterwards turned what was a great day into a nightmare and snatched away what was truly a gutsy drive and tactical decision by Russell. Mercedes will be looking into how they got their weight calculations wrong enough to cost their man a stellar victory but full credit to Russell and his outstanding efforts despite the painful DQ.

As a result of Russell’s exclusion, Hamilton not only was declared victor but Piastri was elevated to P2 and Leclerc was put on the podium in P3. Verstappen must have been pretty happy with his P4 considering where he started and the serious competition from Mercedes and McLaren, but Norris was less than thrilled with his eventual P5, in no small part feeling that his early lap bobble cost him against Verstappen and his teammate. Sainz, who has just been signed by Williams for the next two seasons, ended up P6 and Perez was classified P7, while also setting the race’s fastest lap after a late third pit stop for Softs. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took P8, Alpine’s Ocon grabbed P9 and the RB Honda of Daniel Ricciardo was promoted into the points in P10.

Top 10 finishers of the Belgian GP:

Complete race results available via Formula1.com.

The next race weekend is nearly a month away — the Dutch Grand prix from the dunes of Zandvoort on August 23-25th. The season has really hotted up with a lot of uncertainty in the hunt for the Championships as McLaren and Mercedes relentlessly close the gap to Red Bull. So, the wait should be worth it when Formula 1 returns — hope to see you then to find out how things pick up after the hiatus!