Bitter for Brits

Too little weight – Russell is in for a rude awakening

To tear your hair out: George Russell was too happy about his victory in Belgium.

(Bild: APA/AFP/SIMON WOHLFAHRT)

Easy come, easy go: Mercedes driver George Russell was disqualified on Sunday two and a half hours after his supposed victory at the Belgian Grand Prix. According to the technical delegate in Spa, the Englishman's car was one and a half kilograms too light after a test.

The stewards had no choice but to disqualify him. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 105th victory, Oscar Piastri (McLaren) finished second.

The minimum weight of a Formula 1 car is 798 kilograms, but Russell's car weighed only 796.5 kilograms. "During the hearing, the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all the necessary procedures were carried out correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team," the stewards' statement said.

Fatal second weigh-in
Excitingly, it was only the obligatory second weighing that revealed the underweight. At the first weighing, the car weighed in at the required 798 kilos. But with fuel in the tank. One routine procedure later - the fuel is always removed after the first weighing and the car is weighed again - the car was too light.

Here is the official statement from the FIA:

George Russell in his too light car

(Bild: AP)

Double victory
Mercedes had previously celebrated an unexpected one-two victory, as Russell had prevailed ahead of his British compatriot Hamilton thanks to a courageous one-stop strategy. Russell had started from sixth on the grid in the last race before the summer break and had used his second set of tires for 34 laps, while the competition opted for at least two pit stops. Ultimately, however, the first Mercedes one-two victory since November 2022 in Sao Paulo, where Russell had won ahead of Hamilton, came to nothing.

Charles Leclerc finished third behind Piastri in the Ferrari. World championship leader Max Verstappen took fourth place from eleventh on the grid, with championship runner-up Lando Norris in fifth. Carlos Sainz finished sixth in the second Ferrari. Sergio Perez had to settle for seventh place in the Red Bull after starting from second position.

Strong Hamilton
Leclerc had maintained the lead from pole position at the start, while Hamilton overtook Perez to take second place. On the third lap, the Mercedes driver attacked Leclerc on the Kemmel straight and took the lead with the help of DRS. Meanwhile, Verstappen moved up to eighth position before Norris held him off. On the eleventh lap, the Dutchman picked up a new set of hard tires and the leading group followed shortly afterwards. Piastri gained a place and pushed Perez out of the top three.

Oscar Piastri

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/AP)

Norris, who lost his seventh place to Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari stayed out the longest. Verstappen was flushed into fifth position by Sainz's pit stop and Perez's second. Leclerc tried to undercut Hamilton with his second stop after lap 26, but Ferrari messed it up with a slow tire change.

However, Russell was in the lead, having used his set of hard tires for 34 laps. In the final four laps, the Mercedes duo battled it out, with Piastri also coming dangerously close. But Russell remained in front.

Marko "negatively surprised"
"We are negatively surprised. It turned out that overtaking is just as difficult as in Hungary, although the straights are much longer here," commented Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko on the race in the ServusTV interview. "The positive thing is that we made up two points on Lando."