Hamilton awarded win as Russell’s disqualified
LEWIS Hamilton was handed one of the most dramatic victories of his career at the Belgian Grand Prix after Mercedes team-mate George Russell was disqualified for an illegal car.
Russell appeared to have taken just the third F1 win of his life following a fascinating race where the young Briton rolled the strategy dice to beat Hamilton by just half a second.
But two and a half hours after the chequered flag fell at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, and with both Hamilton and Russell already heading back home to Monaco, the latter was thrown out of the official result. Russell’s Mercedes was found to be 1.5 kilograms underweight.
The stewards’ decision provided Hamilton with his second win from his last three appearances, and a record-extending 105th of his career, but denied the Silver Arrows their first one-two finish since the penultimate round of the 2022 season in Brazil.
“We have to take it on the chin,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said. “A mistake has happened and a one-two would have been a great result going into the summer break.
“We have to learn from that. As a team there were positives but for George it is a massive blow for it to be taken away. He is going to win more.”
Russell, still dressed in his Mercedes
overalls, had just completed his media rounds - where he lauded his display as the best of his career when he was told his triumph was in grave danger.
A report from the FIA’s technical delegate Jo Bauer published at 17:50 local time (16:50 BST) spelled doom for the Englishman. Russell’s car had breached the regulations and all those at Mercedes knew it was a slam-dunk disqualification.
Ron Meadows, the team’s sporting director, was summoned to the stewards at 18:10 local time and, at 18:55, Russell’s fate was officially sealed.
Russell had crossed the line a mere half a second ahead of Hamilton, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri third and only six tenths behind the runner-up. Ferrari polesitter Charles Leclerc took fourth place.
Max Verstappen started 11th following an engine penalty and crossed the line in fifth, one place ahead of a disappointed Lando Norris, to extend his championship lead over the British driver heading into Formula One’s four-week summer shutdown.
For Somerset’s Norris, he will be feeling that this was a missed opportunity to take a chunk out of Verstappen’s championship lead.
Norris lined up from fourth on the grid, but a week after a poor getaway at the Hungaroring allowed Piastri to take control of the race and claim his maiden win, the Englishman was left to rue another bad start.