Formula 1: Hamilton claims Spa victory after Russell’s disqualification

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Despite finishing behind his teammate, Lewis Hamilton has been declared the winner of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix after the Mercedes of George Russell was found to be underweight during post-race scrutineering and has been disqualified from the race results.

The disqualification promoted Hamilton up to first place for his second victory of 2024 as Oscar Piastri and Charles LeClerc rounded off the podium.

HIGHLIGHTS: Catch up on the action as Russell and Hamilton duel for win in thrilling Belgian Grand Prix

LeClerc and Sergio Perez led the field to the grid on a warm, dry afternoon and as the lights went out, LeClerc found himself under immediate pressure by Hamilton in the first few laps. Perez on the other hand, fell through the order as his teammate managed to jump several positions from 11th on the starting grid. Hamilton managed to take the lead from LeClerc on the 3rd lap of the race and quickly began to pull away from the rest of the field as he and his team set forth on a 2-stop strategy for the day.

Much of the field remained bunched up as passing was near impossible on the ultra quick circuit, so pit stop timing was of the essence. As the first round of stops completed, George Russell found himself in a position to assume the lead of the race on new, hard compound tires. With the second round of pitstops beginning to unfold, Russell elected to stay out on the set of hards in order to run them the remainder of the race. This would prove to be an epic strategy as Hamilton, and subsequently Oscar Piastri, chases him down in the final laps of the race.

Unable to pass his teammate, the man who controlled much of the race early on would be resigned to second place at the line as Russell’s brilliant strategy call propelled him to would have been his second win of the season.

Further down the field, Max Verstappen found himself mired in a DRS train with LeCLerc and Lando Norris as no one was able to make a substantial move. At the line, LeClerc would finish 4th ahead of Verstappen and Norris, with a scant 1.3s between the trio.

Post race though, everything changed as Russell’s Mercedes was called into question for being underweight and he was referred to the race stewards, resulting in a disqualification. The loss of the win meant that Hamilton would inherit the victory, losing Mercedes a 1-2 finish – their first since Brazil 2022 – in the process.

Additionally, for the 6th time this season the polesitter for a grand prix was unable to convert to victory, and for the 4th race in a row Max Verstappen wasn’t on the top step of the podium. As Formula 1 ends the first half of the season and teams head off for Summer holiday, recent pace and action on track has made the 2024 season one of the best on record in recent memory. We’ll be back in action in 3 weeks time for the 2024 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort, have a wonderful holiday.

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FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 Results