The Race winner from the Belgium Grand Prix George Russell has been disqualification for being below weight in the post-race inspection. At the end of each race cars and drivers are weighed, and the car is weighed in at the proper weight of 798 kg. The FIA checked the fuel tank after the tank was drained the car came in underweight at 796.5 kg. The FIA report reads:
After the Race, car number 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1.
After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 liters of fuel were removed. The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled.
As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the Competition, I am referring this matter to the Stewards for their consideration.
George Russell had a drive for the history books holding off his teammate and 7-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the Belgium Grand Prix. If the Stewards elect to disqualify George Russell that would push his teammate to the top of the podium capturing his second win in the last three races and the 105th win of his career and Oscar Piastri to second and The Ferrari of Charles Leclerc to the podium. The potential shake-up would also put Daniel Ricciardo in the points building the case for a promotion to the second Red Bull Seat.
George Russell Wouldn’t Be The First
The last major post-race shake due to a disqualification came in the 2023 United States Grand Prix when the FIA disqualified Lewis Hamilton and Charles LeClerc for technical infringements, wiping away Hamilton’s second-place finish and LeClerc’s sixth-place finish. The infringement was that the plank on the floor of the car had too much damage meaning the car was too low to the ground.
We have seen in the Formula Series winners being disqualified post-race and losing the win. In Formula 2 Richard Verschoor won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but was later disqualified because of a technical violation involving the throttle. Earlier this year in Indycar Josef Newgarden lost his win in St. Petersburg in the Team Penske Push to Pass scandal and. In 2022 in NASCAR Denny Hamlin won the race in Pocono but was later disqualified.
It is Official
George Russell has been disqualified thus losing the win at Spa. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff has since commented to the media since the DQ:
We have to take it on the chin if the stewards decide against ourselves, 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
Hamilton Now captures his 105th career win and his fourth Belgium Grand Prix victory in his career. George Russell no plummets to eighth in the standings behind Sergio Perez who is on the hot seat for his ride. Hamilton now climbs to 150 points on the year just 12 points behind Carlos Sainz and 17 points behind Oscar Piastri.
This is Hamilton’s second win without crossing the line first. As many Sebastian Vettel fans remember in Canada in 2019. Vettel missed the chicane and came back onto the track in front of Hamilton. The Stewarts handed Vettel a five-second penalty for unsafely rejoining the track allowing Hamilton to capture his seventh victory in Canada.
