Lewis Hamilton took his 105th Formula 1 victory in the Belgian Grand Prix overnight after his Mercedes teammate George Russell was sensationally stripped of his win due to an underweight car.
Russell had driven what was described by many as the best race of his career for spoils at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and was present on the podium, but post-race scrutineering revealed that his car was 1.5 kg underweight after 2.8 litres were drained from his fuel tank to take his one-litre fuel sample.
The disqualification elevated Hungarian Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri to second and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to third.
“It is heartbreaking to be disqualified from today’s race,” said Russell. It had been an unbelievable Grand Prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work.
“In what turned out to be my final stint, the tyres just kept getting better and better. I was nursing them in the early stages and as we went further, I became more and more convinced we could get to the end on them. It was a risk worth taking, and it looked like it had paid off.
“Despite the disqualification, I am of course proud to have crossed the line first. It is also good that the team was still able to take the victory with Lewis. He drove a great race and was the fastest car out there on the two-stop strategy.
“Whilst I’m incredibly disappointed, I know we will bounce back stronger after the summer break, starting in Zandvoort.”
Championship leader Max Verstappen recovered from a 10-place grid penalty to lead home title rival Lando Norris for fourth.
Carlos Sainz survived a trip into the gravel while leading to finish sixth, ahead of Perez, who crumbled from a front-row start and lost spots to all of Red Bull’s Constructor’s Championship rivals for seventh.
Fernando Alonso was eighth, ahead of Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo, the latter of whom inherits the final point on offer following the Mercedes’ disqualification.
Russell’s exclusion from the results and Perez’s poor outing see McLaren further close in on Red Bull in the Constructor’s Championship. The two teams are now separated by just 42 points entering the summer break, with Ferrari a further 21 points in arrears in third.
Verstappen’s fourth place extends his lead over Norris in the Driver’s standings to 78 points. Leclerc is third, 22 points behind Norris and 10 points ahead of Piastri. Sainz, Hamilton, Perez, and Russell make up the top eight, respectively.
Perez was immediately on the back foot in Belgium, with Leclerc retaining the lead from pole but a fast-starting Lewis Hamilton launching well from third and taking second off the Red Bull through Turn 1 and down into Eau Rouge.
Hamilton quickly wound in Leclerc and hit the front on Lap 3 at the Les Combes chicane.
Norris, meanwhile, lost three places on the opening lap after dropping his left rear into the gravel at La Source. A fast-starting Verstappen quickly emerged on his rear, having easily accounted for Alex Albon, Ocon and Alonso.
Zhou Guanyu was an early retirement, losing power in his Sauber. He would get back to speed but ultimately retired two laps later.
Verstappen and Russell were the first of the lead group to stop, coming in on Lap 11. Hamilton, Leclerc, and Piastri quickly covered while Norris remained out until Lap 15 and lost ground to the early leaders through an undercut.
Sainz, the only driver of the lead eight, remained out and inherited the lead until Lap 20, when he switched to mediums and dropped to eighth.
Russell got past Perez on Lap 21, while Verstappen lost ground while trying to get by his teammate. Red Bull responded by boxing Perez at the end of the lap.
After 22 laps, Hamilton returned to the lead ahead of Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, and Perez, respectively.
Leclerc made his second stop on Lap 25, and Mercedes reacted to pit Hamilton the following tour to elevate Piastri to the lead.
Verstappen emerged two seconds behind his teammate following his second stop on Lap 28. Norris was left trailing both of them after he pitted on Lap 29.
A long 4.4-second stop hurt Piastri when he came in on Lap 30, but he still emerged ahead of Perez, Verstappen and Norris in fourth, behind only Russell, Hamilton and Leclerc.
Russell, meanwhile, elected to forgo a second pit stop to remain at the front.
Hamilton clawed back the seven-second difference and was on the rear of his teammate with four laps remaining. Russell, however, defended exceptionally well and held on to cross the line first.
Piastri found good pace following his final stop and worked past Leclerc for third on Lap 36. He overturned a 14-second deficit to Russell and emerged on the rear of the lead battle over the final tours.
He ultimately ran out of time to complete the move and crossed the line third.
Leclerc, Verstappen and Norris greeted the chequered flag line-astern, with the Ferraro holding fourth ahead of the Red Bull.
Sainz took seventh off Perez on Lap 39, leaving the front-row starter a distant eighth.
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 23-25.
Header Image: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
