F1 Belgian GP LIVE: George Russell stripped of victory as car breaks rules
Russell has been disqualified from Sunday’s race with his car having failed a post-race check
George Russell was disqualified from Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix just hours after claiming a thrilling victory on track.
The 26-year-old opted for a bold race strategy, pitting only once for tyres, and it seemed to have paid off in brilliant fashion as he fended off a late challenge from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to claim what he thought was his third win in Formula One.
However, in an initial post-race check, Russell’s Mercedes car was found to be 1.5 kg under the weight permitted in the regulations, following the obligatory drainage of fuel.
The matter was referred to the FIA stewards, who an hour later confirmed that Russell had been disqualified from the race classification. The driver himself, it has been reported, found out about the disqualification whilst on his way home to Monaco.
Follow live updates from the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen pits (Lap 11/44)
Verstappen is looking to undercut Norris here! A 2.7 sec stop from Red Bull.
George Russell also pitted, 2.3 seconds, and comes out in 12th.
So, will Lando pit straight away after this lap?!
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton on team radio (Lap 10/44)
“The tyres are still OK, rears are definitely dropping,” says Hamilton.
His lead to Leclerc is two seconds.
Best battle in the top-10 is Carlos Sainz on the cusp of George Russell in fifth, 0.6 seconds behind.
But now the pack seem to be stuck in a bit of a queue from Hamilton in first to Verstappen in eighth!
Some of the cars down the order, on softs, have already pitted...
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton outside of DRS range (Lap 7/44)
Where have Mercedes found this early pace from?!
Hamilton extends his lead to 1.3 seconds, outside of DRS range to Charles Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris is just doing enough to keep Max Verstappen behind him, despite the deficit being just half-a-second.
Top-10: Hamilton, Leclerc, Perez, Piastri, Russell, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, Alonso, Albon
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton overtakes Charles Leclerc (Lap 3/44)
What pace from the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton!
Hamilton uses DRS to pass Leclerc down the outside with ease on the Kemmel Straight!
Hamilton leads the Belgian GP!
Top-10: Hamilton, Leclerc, Perez, Piasri, Russell, Sainz, Norris, Verstappen, Alonso, Albon
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen already on Lando Norris’ tail!
Norris, down in P7, now has Verstappen on his tail with the Red Bull having already jumped up three places!
Nightmare for the Brit!
F1 Belgian Grand Prix: Lights out!
Away we go then and Charles Leclerc reacts well and keeps the lead at the start!
Lewis Hamilton started off well and overtakes Sergio Perez up Eau Rouge and down the Kemmel Straight!
But it’s a nightmare start for Lando Norris, who drops three places to seventh as Oscar Piastri takes fourth place!
Formation lap!
Charles Leclerc leads the pack around for the formation lap under the sun at Spa!
All the top-13 on medium tyres other than Carlos Sainz in sixth, who is on the hard compound tyres.
Here we go then! What will happen at the first turn?!
A reminder of the starting grid at Spa:
1. Charles Leclerc
2. Sergio Perez
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Lando Norris
5. Oscar Piastri
6. George Russell
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Esteban Ocon
10. Alex Albon
11. Max Verstappen*
12. Pierre Gasly
13. Daniel Ricciardo
14. Valtteri Bottas
15. Lance Stroll
16. Nico Hulkenberg
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Logan Sargeant
19. Zhou Guanyu
20. Yuki Tsunoda**
*Verstappen takes a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine allocation
**Tsunoda starts at the back of the grid after exceeding his engine allocation
George Russell who starts P6:
“A lot of unknowns going into this race, it’s a bit hotter today and it may make the deg improve. Time will tell.
“Patience game today, you can box early but you’ll pay for that today.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner:
“It’s going to be tough, it’s not like previous years, but we’ll see.”
“Best thing Sergio can do is take the lead by turn five and bugger off!”
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