British Formula One driver George Russel went through a range of emotions, from being overjoyed to being utterly disappointed after his win at the Belgium Grand Prix was scrapped after he faced disqualification due to his car being under the required weight. This meant the win was handed to his teammate Lewis Hamilton who came in second place. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was full of apologies to his driver after the disqualification came through. This was another reminder of how Formula One is an unpredictable and cruel sport and in a moment anything can change.
No Excuses For Mercedes Error
After George Russel managed to get the win after being on a risky one-stop strategy, Russel managed to hold on to his car with old tires after having just one pit-stop the entire race and Mercedes Team Principle Toto Wolff even termed him as the ‘tire whisperer’. As Russel crossed the checkered flag and was closely followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes team was overjoyed as they got themselves a 1-2 finish. The celebrations turned sour as when the team photograph was being taken with the trophies, news reached the Mercedes team that George’s car was found to be underweight which gave him an advantage over the other drivers in terms of pace. Thus the race winner was disqualified and the win was handed over to his teammate Lewis Hamilton who got his 105th career win weirdly.
Verstappen Extends Lead At The Top
Defending champion Max Verstappen started the race from 11th place after he was given a ten-place penalty. Even after this, Verstappen managed to get a good pace out of his car and was able to finish the race in fourth position after he was promoted up a place due to George Russel’s disqualification. This extended Verstappen’s lead at the top of the table to 279 points and a gap of 78 points to Lando Norris who currently sits in second in the championship standings. The disqualification of Russel meant that Oscar Piastri was promoted to second place and Charles Leclerc to third.