George Russell disqualified from F1 Belgian GP, Lewis Hamilton the new winner
George Russell has been disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix, handing Lewis Hamilton the victory.
George Russell has been disqualified from the 2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix after the FIA found his car to be underweight.
Following the FIA’s post-race checks, the matter was referred to the F1 stewards, and Russell was subsequently disqualified from the Belgian GP.
This hands Lewis Hamilton his 105th career F1 win - his second of the 2024 season.
Russell had won the race following an inspired strategy call to commit to a one-stop strategy.
Despite intense pressure from Hamilton in the closing laps, Russell held on to take the victory at Spa-Francorchamps.
Approximately one hour after the race, the FIA announced that following their post-race scrutineering procedure, Russell’s car was found to be underweight by 1.5kg.
Unsurprisingly, Russell was excluded from the final race results, giving Hamilton the win.
The stewards' noted: "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.
"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."
The DSQ promotes Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc to second and third respectively.
Max Verstappen has been classified fourth ahead of Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez.
In terms of the midfield, Fernando Alonso ended up eighth ahead of Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo.
