In a surprising turn of events at the Belgian Grand Prix, Mercedes experienced a dramatic twist when Lewis Hamilton was declared the race winner following the disqualification of his teammate George Russell.
Russell’s car, which was found to weigh 796.5 kg after the race, fell short of the required minimum weight of 798 kg. As a result, Russell was disqualified from his winning position.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff commented, “We have to take our disqualification on the chin. We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it. We will go away, evaluate what happened, and understand what went wrong. To lose a 1-2 is frustrating, and we can only apologize to George, who drove such a strong race.”
Hamilton’s victory marks his 105th career win and his second in the past three races. Prior to the disqualification, Russell had managed to fend off Hamilton in the final laps, with Oscar Piastri of McLaren securing third place on the podium.
This change in results marks Mercedes’ third win in four races and would have been their first 1-2 finish in two years. The disqualification also meant Russell lost his second Grand Prix win of the season and the third of his career.
Russell’s impressive performance included driving 34 of the 44 laps on the same set of tires, while his competitors made two pit stops. Hamilton had expressed dissatisfaction with his additional pit stops, despite having a 12-second lead at one point.
“Every stint I had tires left, but the team pulled me in,” Hamilton remarked after the race. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s one of those days.”
Piastri’s overtaking maneuver of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on Lap 36 allowed him to secure a podium position, which is crucial for McLaren’s bid to surpass Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.
Lando Norris, who started in fourth, finished fifth following the disqualification. Max Verstappen, who received a 10-place grid penalty for a new power unit, achieved a fourth-place finish, while his teammate Sergio Perez placed seventh but earned an extra point for the fastest lap of the race.
The Formula 1 season will now take a summer break and will resume on August 25 with the Dutch Grand Prix.
