LEWIS HAMILTON has won the Belgian GP in dramatic style after team-mate George Russell was disqualified hours after the race had finished.
The stewards found that Russell’s car – which ran a one-stop strategy – was underweight after it was drained of fuel during the usual post-race checks.
After confirmation from the stewards, Russell’s disqualification meant team-mate Hamilton was crowned the race winner after finishing second at Spa.
Hamilton – whose two pits caused him to drop in behind Russell – originally formed an impressive Mercedes one-two after the team ditched their updates on Friday.
But the Silver Arrows’ one-stop strategy likely wore down the rubber on Russell’s tyres and is being citied as the main reason the car came in underweight.
The W15 weighed in at 796.5kg, 1.5kg beneath the minimum weight required by the sport’s regulations.
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The car had initially weighed in bang on the 798kg limit, but once the remaining fuel was drained in accordance with the rules, it fell below.
The decision gives Hamilton a second victory in three races going into F1’s summer break, with Max Verstappen topping the standings.
Mercedes told the stewards that “there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team”.
Russell reacted to his disqualification with an Instagram post, writing: “Heartbreaking… We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race.
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“We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come.”
The stewards’ ruling said: “Car 63 was weighed on the FIA inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 796.5 kg.
“The calibration of both scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.
“The Stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied.”
“The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg.”
How the race went for Russell
Russell managed to hold off the seven-time world champion on 24 laps on ONE SET of hard tyres to claim his second title of the season.
He put in an extraordinary drive to run an unusual one-stop strategy in a race that featured battles throughout the leading places.
The 26-year-old started three places behind Hamilton in P6.
Oscar Piastri came a close third for McLaren after a late overtake on Charles Leclerc.
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Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff believes it could have been the one-tyre strategy that cost Russell his race win.
Wolff said: “I would suspect it’s because we ran one tyre throughout for most of the race.
“You have to take it on the chin. If the stewards decide against ourselves, a mistake has happened.
“A one-two would have been a great result going into the summer break, it couldn’t be any better.”
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While Red Bull team boss Christian Horner claimed that Russell’s car would have lost over a kilo of rubber with the one-stop strategy.
He said: “Really sad news as George but obviously a mistake in their calculations.”
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
