George Russell Disqualified from Belgian Grand Prix VictoryGeorge Russell Disqualified from Belgian Grand Prix Victory Despite crossing the finish line first, George Russell’s victory at the Belgian Grand Prix was overturned due to a technical infringement. Mercedes, Russell’s team, made an error regarding tire pressure, resulting in the disqualification. Lewis Hamilton Secures Race Win The disqualification handed the victory to Lewis Hamilton, his 105th F1 win, breaking a record previously held by Michael Schumacher. This marks Hamilton’s second win in three races, signaling a resurgence for the Mercedes driver. Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc Round Out Podium McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up to second, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the podium. Championship leader Max Verstappen finished fourth after taking a grid penalty, with Lando Norris in fifth and Verstappen extending his championship lead. Masterclass in Tire Management by Russell Russell’s performance had been impressive, showcasing his ability to manage tires effectively. He started sixth but only stopped once during the race, holding off the other top drivers who made two stops. Mercedes’ Disappointment Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff expressed disappointment over Russell’s disqualification. The team admitted to making a mistake and apologized to Russell, recognizing his strong performance. Competitive Season With seven different winners in 13 races, the 2023 F1 season has been highly competitive, with teams closely matched in terms of pace. The top six cars at Spa finished within 10 seconds of each other. Next Race and Summer Break The season now enters a summer break, with 14 of 24 races completed. The next Grand Prix will take place in the Netherlands on August 25.
“It’s heartbreaking to be disqualified from the race today. It was an incredible Grand Prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work,” said Russell. “Despite the disqualification, I’m obviously proud to have crossed the finish line first. It’s also good that the team was still able to take the win with Lewis.”
Hamilton extended his record 105 F1 victories to the former seven-time world champion, who has now won two of the last three races after his triumph at Silverstone earlier this month ended a nearly 1,000-day winless streak stretching back to the penultimate race of 2021.
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His revival comes after he decided to move to Ferrari next season, ending his 12 years at Mercedes.
“I feel for George, and you don’t want to win a race by disqualification, but we’ve been in the fight for the win again the last few races,” Hamilton said. “It’s incredibly competitive now.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up to second, while polesitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium.
Championship leader Max Verstappen was fourth after the three-time reigning champion started from 11th following a 10-place grid penalty for using too many engines in his Red Bull.
Lando Norris had another bad start in his McLaren and finished fifth, allowing Verstappen to extend his championship lead to 78 points.
“Overall it was a pretty positive day for me as we started from P11 and finished ahead of Lando, who is my biggest rival in the championship,” said Verstappen.
Russell’s disqualification ruined what was seen as a masterclass in tyre management by the 26-year-old driver who started sixth. He bucked just once, while the other top drivers all stopped twice during the 44-lap race.
His only stop was on lap 10, so Russell continued on the same tyres for 34 laps, holding off Hamilton, who had completed 18 laps on his final set of tyres.
After Russell let out a shout of joy at the checkered flag, his team radio half-jokingly praised him as “the tire whisperer.”
But it was all for nothing.
“We have to accept our disqualification,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff
“We clearly made a mistake and have to make sure we learn from it… It’s frustrating to lose 1-2 and we can only apologise to George, who drove such a strong race.”
After struggling at the start of the season, Mercedes have now won three of the last four races, with Russell triumphing in Austria and Hamilton in Britain.
With McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari all on similar pace – and avoiding race-ending crashes – victory was a matter of small margins and well-executed pit stop and tyre strategies. The top six were all within 10 seconds.
The seven winners in 13 races after the Hungarian GP ensured that this season was the most competitive since 2012.
Verstappen has now gone four races without a win after winning four of the first five Grands Prix this year.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was sixth, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who had started second in another poor performance from the under-pressure Mexican driver. Fernando Alonso was eighth for Aston Martin, with Esteban Ocon in his Alpine and RB’s Daniel Ricciardo rounding out the points.
The Spa circuit, set in the rolling forests of the Ardennes, is the longest in F1 at 4.3 miles. It remained dry on Sunday, in contrast to the constant drizzle the day before, which led to the postponement of an F2 race.
Now that 14 of the 24 races have been completed, the season goes into a summer break until the Dutch GP on August 25.
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