Drama in Belgium: Lewis Hamilton Clinches Victory as George Russell Faces Disqualification in Thrilling F1 Race Due to…
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium: Lewis Hamilton emerged as the winner of a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after Mercedes teammate George Russell, who took the chequered flag, was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight following the race.
It is the second win of the season for the seven-time world champion following his success at Silverstone earlier this month and the 105th of his Formula One career.
It was also the third Mercedes victory in the last four races following a poor run of results in the last two years although they initially thought they had wrapped up a compelling one-two.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was elevated to second with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moving up from fourth to third.
The 26-year-old Russell, who started sixth on the grid, produced a stunning performance on the track, the only driver to opt for a one-stop policy that saw him nursing his second set of tyres for 34 of the 44 laps.
He was able to hold off Hamilton and the flying McLaren of Piastri, who finished third, to claim what he thought was his third grand prix victory.
His joy, however, was short-lived as a technical report released after the race said Russell’s car had been found to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
“Car 63 is disqualified from the race classification,” the stewards announced in a statement.
“All other drivers move up in the classification,” they added.
Russell’s car was initially weighed at 798kg, which is exactly on the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
But stewards found it had not been fully drained of fuel and when it was weighed again it
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Lewis Hamilton wins by DSQ and Numerology – 2024 Belgian GP Review
Driver 44, Lewis Hamilton, won the 44-lap long 2024 Belgian Grand Prix after the FIA issued document number 44, that disqualified the original race winner and Hamilton’s George Russell from the race.
Yes, numerology was at play, if you believe in it that is, at this weekend’s race around the legendary Spa Francorchamps. Btw, Oscar Piastri’s slow pit stop was 4.4 seconds long!
Lewis Hamilton became only the second driver to score multiple race wins in the 2024 Formula 1 season. Hamilton’s victory at Spa came 11 years to the day when he scored his first race win with Mercedes!
Was Mercedes expected to be in the race fight whatsoever? The pre-race chatter was about McLaren vs. Red Bull Racing and how Ferrari-Mercedes would play second fiddle. But the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix had other plans. In fact, it showed what a Formula 1 race should be like – multiple teams fighting for the win with no predictability on who could actually win!
In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah dissect the race, the popular and not-so-popular stories and more. Tune in!
(Season 2024, Episode 38)
Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah
Image courtesy: Mercedes
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