George Russell pulled of an impressive race at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix to earn his third race victory but after the race the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team driver was disqualified due to his W15 being underweight.
Race Recap – The Action Before The DSQ
Charles Leclerc started on pole position and kept the lead off the line from pole. Sergio Pérez started on the front row but lost out to Lewis Hamilton on the start and fell further back throughout the race, ending the day in eighth as his Oracle Red Bull Racing future looks bleak.
While most of the field opted for a two-stop strategy, Russell took a gamble with a single pit stop on lap ten. It was a bold call, and he was nursing those hard tyres to the death as the race reached its climax. Hamilton was all over his teammate in the closing stages, but Russell held on and put in a defensive masterclass. It was a heart-stopping finish, with the Brit ultimately prevailing by half a second to claim his third Formula 1 victory.
There was a brilliant battle throughout the race from Hamilton down with Leclerc battling against the likes of Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Russell in different stages of the race. Fernando Alonso also opted for a one stop, and was able to stay in the points while Esteban Ocon managed to overtake Daniel Ricciardo in the last few laps to take the final points position.
The DSQ Drama
Russell’s victory was excellent – an expertly driven Grand Prix. The Brit managed his hard tyres from lap 11 until the end for his third race win ahead of Hamilton, who seemingly had the victory secured at one point in the day.
However, after the race a Technical Delegate’s Report released which said that while the car had initially been found to have been compliant with the minimum weight requirement of 798kg, 2.8 litres of fuel were then removed from the W15.
The original report said: “The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled. The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor. As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the competition, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
After a visit to the stewards, Russell was disqualified, as expected. The FIA released another document about their reasoning to do so. It said: “During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team. 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.”
Photo: Wolfgang Wilhelm
Where Did Everyone Finish After the DSQ?
Hamilton was second on the road, meaning Mercedes still win the race. The seven time world champion wins his second Grand Prix of the 2024 season after returning to the top step of the podium at Silverstone a few weeks back. Piastri moves up to second, while Leclerc gets onto the podium for Scuderia Ferrari.
Verstappen finishes fourth, ahead of Championship rival, Norris in fifth. Carlos Sainz Jr. ends the day in sixth, while Pérez could only muster up eighth after starting on the front row. Alonso moves up to eighth for Aston Martin Armaco F1 Team, with Ocon securing BWT Alpine F1 Team two points with a ninth place finish. Ricciardo got rewarded for a great drive thanks to the Russell disqualification, moving up to tenth.
Lance Stroll finished eleventh, with Alex Albon in twelfth. Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Valtteri Bottas, Yuki Tsunoda, Logan Sargeant and Nico Hulkenberg ending up outside the points. Guanyu Zhou retired in the early stages, while race winner Russell was disqualified.
Changes to the Championship
Verstappen increases his lead in the Championship to 78 points over Norris. Russell had overtaken Pérez for seventh but falls back behind the Mexican after his DSQ. Meanwhile in the Constructors, McLaren F1 Team further close the gap on Red Bull, with the gap now at 43 points. Ricciardo’s point for Visa Cash App RB increases their advantage over MoneyGram Haas F1 Team to seven points.
Race Results + Championship Standing Tables
Constructors Championship:
| POS | TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 408 |
| 2 | McLaren Mercedes | 366 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 345 |
| 4 | Mercedes | 266 |
| 5 | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 73 |
| 6 | RB Honda RBPT | 34 |
| 7 | Haas Ferrari | 27 |
| 8 | Alpine Renault | 11 |
| 9 | Williams Mercedes | 4 |
| 10 | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 0 |
Drivers Championship:
| POS | TEAM | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | 277 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 199 |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | 177 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | 167 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | 162 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | 150 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | 131 |
| 8 | George Russell | 116 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | 49 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | 24 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | 22 |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | 22 |
| 13 | Daniel Ricciardo | 13 |
| 14* | Ollie Bearman* | 6 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | 5 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | 5 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | 5 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | 4 |
| 19 | Zhou Guanyu | 0 |
| 20 | Logan Sargeant | 0 |
| 21 | Valtteri Bottas | 0 |