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
FULL STORY: George Russell disqualified after winning Belgian Grand Prix
George Russell has been disqualified from Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix in a shock turn of events after his sensational victory - with Lewis Hamilton consequently claiming the win.
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 confirmed that Russell has been disqualified from the race classification.
Russell’s disqualification means team-mate Hamilton, who finished second, claims his 105th F1 win.
George Russell disqualified after winning Belgian Grand Prix
The British driver took the chequered flag in first place but his Mercedes car was found to be under the permitted weight
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reacts after George Russell stripped of Belgian GP win
“We have to take it on the chin,” Mercedes team principal 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.”
BREAKING: George Russell has been disqualified
Confirmation that Russell has been stripped of his victory.
FIA: “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.”
Lewis Hamilton takes the win.
FULL STORY: George Russell set to be disqualified after winning Belgian Grand Prix
George Russell set to be disqualified after winning Belgian Grand Prix
The British driver took the chequered flag in first place but his Mercedes car was found to be under the permitted weight in a post-race check
FIA STATEMENT:
A statement from FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer:
“After the race, car number 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1
“After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed. 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.”
Sergio Perez on finishing eighth:
“We lost a position to Lewis, first stint was going well. We were running third. Going onto the medium, pititng into trafffic, we were really slow on the straight line. We were too aggressive on that tyre on that stint, I ended up doing a massively stint on the hard, generally speaking we were weak on the tyres.
“I think Max was a bit faster, I was compromised on strategy quite a lot. Both cars were not able to match the Mercedes today.
On summer break: “To really focus together with the team to understand what we’re doing with the car on the last few events. It’s a good race to understand what we’ve been doing with the tyres, that’s the main thing. That’s what we have to do as a team.”
BREAKING: George Russell win in jeopardy
Russell could be disqualified from the race, with the Mercedes car found to be under weight by 1.5 kg in an initial post-race check.
The matter has been referred to the stewards.
Max Verstappen, after finishing fifth:
“You get stuck in the DRS train, we didn’t have a lot more pace than anyone else. We did the best we could. Maybe if we had a hard tyre, I could have had one more position. Of course, if you start P1 where I qualified we could have won, but we took the penalty. A tricky race when you’re stuck.
“They’re ahead of us. Sometimes McLaren, sometimes Mercedes. Being in P11, didn’t have enough time to pass Ferrari. Everyone is doing a great job.”
Verstappen has finished fifth in three of the last four races...
Lewis Hamilton, after finishing second:
“Firstly congrats to the team and George, a huge buzz for everyone back at the factory. Amazing work on Friday night, to get a one-two into the summer break is pretty spectacular. Felt great to get in the lead, bit of a shock at the end, we’ll keep that in-house and move forward. Go in with our heads high.
On Mercedes fighting for one-two: “It’s a positive. George wasn’t really in my race for most of it, it’s great at the end we do have cars at the end.
On being pitted twice compared to once for Russell: “Yeah, it is what it is. It’s done, I’m moving into my break.”
Lando Norris, after finishing sixth:
“Strategy was good. It seemed whoever undercut the most won the race. I came off at turn 1 and that ruined me race.
“We did what we thought was best. In hindsight, undercut seemed to be the right thing. Pace in the car was good, could have been more aggressive.
“The pace was good, dirty air costs you so much. The few laps I had clean... the car felt good, came alive a little bit. We undercut Carlos, ended up finishing nine seconds ahead.
“From a team side, super happy. The last few races I just feel I’ve messed up a lot and given up a lot of points, a little reset and come back stronger.”
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