Race Summary: Belgium GP, 2024
Shock Disqualification Undos Mercedes 1-2 At Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, Sunday 28th July 2024
G. RUSSELL #63 (MERCEDES) - DSQ
L. HAMILTON #44 (MERCEDES) - 1:19:57.566
O. PIASTRI #81 (McLAREN-MERCEDES) - +0.647s
C. LECLERC #16 (FERRARI) - +8.023s
The Belgium GP had started with a very rainy Saturday towards the end of Free Practice 3 and during the Qualifying session, with FP3 ending prematurely after a crash from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll resulted in a red flag. As a result, many teams went into Qualifying having not had any practice in these new conditions.
Several component changes for Verstappen (Red Bull) and VCARB’s Yuki Tsunoda left them with significant grid penalties - 10 and a whopping 60 respectively.
Charles Leclerc had a blisteringly fast last minute lap in Q3, putting him behind Verstappen, however with the penalties imposed dropping the Dutchman into P11, Leclerc was set to start from pole. With a lot of race leaders throughout the race, a number of drivers and teams opted for a 2 stop strategy with a notable exception - Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver George Russell who was set on only one stop. Fernando Alonso also opted for a one stop, but Russell with some impressive tyre management, finished the race in P1.
It was not however the dream win, nor was it the dream 1-2 finish for Mercedes, as after scrutineering, George Russell’s car was found to be 1.5kg underweight resulting in disqualification. Even more unfortunately, this news came after the euphoria of all the podium celebrations. Russell’s disqualification resulted in Lewis Hamilton being declared the race winner, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri now in P2 and Charles Leclerc promoted to a podium position in P3 for Ferrari. The additional points gained by Piastri also resulted in him being able to overtake Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) in the Drivers’ Standings.
