dpa
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes was promoted to Formula One Belgian Grand Prix winner after his team-mate and race winner George Russell was disqualified after his car was found to be below the minimum weight allowance.
Russell took advantage of a brave one-stop strategy on Sunday to claim his second F1 win of the season.
But motorsports ruling body FIA said in a statement after the race that Russell’s car weighted 796.5 kilograms after having its fuel drained in post-race checks, which is 1.5kg below the minimum weight of 798kg requested by the rules.
The matter was referred to the stewards, who stated: "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.”
Russell wrote on X: "Heartbreaking. We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race. We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come.”
The decision promoted Hamilton to first, while McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took second and polesitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari moved up to third.
"It is what it is, the mistake has happened. We have to learn from that. As a team there are more positives to take, obviously for George it’s a massive blow,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said.
"To lose a one-two is frustrating and we can only apologize to George who drove such a strong race.” For Hamilton, it was his second win this season after he was victorious at his home British GP on July 7.
Triple world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull finished fifth, but was promoted to fourth after he served a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his engine allowance and entered the race from 11th. It was a deliberate decision by Red Bull because Spa offers good overtaking opportunities.
Intense pitstop strategies dominate Belgian race Leclerc held on to his pole position, while Sergio Perez of Red Bull lost the second place to Hamilton. The seven-time world champion, who next year will race for Ferrari, didn’t take long to overtake his future team-mate Leclerc.
Hamilton made his first stop on lap 12, when Russell had already pitted, leaving Leclerc on the lead. But the Monegasque also pitted for new tyres in the following lap, returning to the track behind Hamilton.
The Briton retook the lead in lap 21 after Carlos Sainz was the last driver in the front of the grid to pit.
Leclerc was called in back into the boxes in lap 26 in an undercut attempt, but the plans were frustrated due to a slow pitstop. Hamilton responded pitting in the following lap and returning ahead of Leclerc.
At this point, Piastri was leading the race, but he also needed new tyres, leaving the first place in Russell’s hands.
"I can’t believe he actually made it work” Russell had a six-second lead over Hamilton with 11 laps to go, but Hamilton quickly started to close the gap.
The final four laps were nerve-wracking - the race still completely open and Hamilton pressuring Russell for the win, while Piastri was also trying to take second place away from Mercedes.
Russell thought his brave strategy had paid off as he crossed the finish line in first, only for his car to be caught underweight after such incredible drive.
"I was trying to get closer, but George did a great job on going long on the tyres. Every stint I had tyres left but the team brought me in...” Hamilton said.
Before Russell arrived in the drivers’ room ahead of the podium, Piastri remarked to Hamilton: "I can’t believe he actually made it work.”
Red Bull again miss podium ahead of summer break Red Bull, who are not as dominant this season as in the past two years, failed to grab a place on the podium for a second consecutive weekend and in the final race before the month-long summer break.
Verstappen managed a little damage control and by finishing ahead of Norris extended his championship lead over the Briton to 78 points.
Perez, meanwhile, placed seventh after starting the race in second and will give his team a lot to think during the break. His seat has been under threat for a while due to his disappointing performances this year.