At the Belgian Grand Prix, George Russell outran Lewis Hamilton on the track, but the seven-time Formula One champion won the race after his Mercedes teammate was disqualified.
Although George Russell outperformed his teammate in the race, Lewis Hamilton’s performance at the Belgian Grand Prix stunned former driver Jolyon Palmer.
Despite having newer tires in the last few laps of the Spa-Francorchamps race, Hamilton managed to pass his teammate. Russell’s strategy call to pit once seemed brilliant, but he still had enough life left in his rubber to take the chequered flag.
However, the 26-year-old was quickly brought back to reality after accepting the trophy and having a little celebration with coworkers. Russell lost the race when the FIA inspected his car and discovered that it weighed 1.5 kg less than the required minimum.
After his triumph at Silverstone, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate took home his second season-long win. Although he may not have been given the victory, despite the praise Russell earned for his in-race strategy call, the seven-time champion still amazed former Formula One driver Palmer with his performance in the Ardennes.
The former Renault driver wrote the following in his column for the official F1 website: “Lewis Hamilton is back to his best and saved face for Mercedes by driving a flawless race in the other car to ensure that the team still won even though Russell was disqualified.
“The conversation would have focused much more on Hamilton executing his own flawless drive in a very different way if Russell hadn’t taken a risk with his plan… Hamilton’s start was the best in the field, coming in third on the grid. He was the only driver to react in less than 0.25 seconds from the moment the lights went out until the car was launched.
He maintained that pace during the start’s acceleration phase and made a crucial pass by going inside Sergio Perez in the first few meters of the race. Hamilton wouldn’t have had such a clear opportunity to pass [Charles] Leclerc either if he hadn’t jumped Perez early on.
“Lando Norris and [Max] Verstappen found it very difficult to move forward as DRS trains dominated the race further back. It was surprisingly hard to move on Sunday, with slipstreams and DRS trains serving as an excellent defensive tactic.
Hamilton discovered that at the end of the race, even going up against his teammate’s worn tires without any DRS or slipstream. As a result, Hamilton’s race might have gone very differently if he hadn’t moved into second place right away and applied pressure to the leading Ferrari before Leclerc could settle into a rhythm.
Hamilton had a flawlessly planned weekend. It appeared to be a typical Hamilton victory until Russell’s strategy emerged. Hamilton had qualified well, used a few pivotal moments to get into the lead in the race, and then managed the gap and strategy to those behind.”
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