George Russell led his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to victory in Belgium when the Mercedes driver was disqualified for driving an underweight vehicle.
George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix, confirming Lewis Hamilton as the winner.
Russell, Hamilton’s countryman and teammate, crossed the finish line first. The 26-year-old’scarwas found to be underweight later on, though.
The official decision document from the stewards stated, “Car 63 was weighed on the FIA inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 796.5 kg.” The competitor attested to and saw the calibration of both scales.
“The team representative at the hearing attested to the accuracy of the measurement and the proper execution of all necessary procedures. The group also agreed that there were no extenuating factors and that this was a real
team error. The Stewards conclude that an infringement has occurred that requires the application of the standard penalty under Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations.”
“Although there are team benefits to consider, George is deeply hurt as a driver who had dreamed of winning these races since he was a young child and that dream has now been dashed. “An error has occurred,” stated Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes.
Using a one-stop strategy, Hamilton had attacked Russell in the final moments at Spa-Francorchamps. He managed to stave off the veteran for what he believed to be a historic win, only to lose both the victory and the points.
Rather, after winning the British Grand Prix earlier in the season, Hamilton wins his second race of the year. Earlier, after winning in Austria in June, it appeared as though Russell would win twice in 2024.
After the race, before Russell’s disqualification was declared, Hamilton had congratulated him. “This is definitely not what we expected. First of all, congrats to George and the group “he stated.
“On Friday, we had an absolute catastrophe—the car was literally nowhere,” he continued. “We made some adjustments because it was difficult to predict how the weather would be yesterday, but the car ran really well. Therefore, we genuinely owe it to the guys back at the factory as well as the team here, who helped with the pit stops and strategy.
“George did an excellent job of going long on the tires, but I was trying to get closer [to the finish line]. I had tires left over from each stint, but the team called me in. Regretfully, it was just one of those days.”
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