A dream day for Mercedes at the Belgian Grand Prix was at least half spoiled after the cars reached the checkered flag as initial race winner George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight car, giving his teammate Lewis Hamilton the victory.
Russell, who held off Hamilton and McLaren's Oscar Piastri in the closing laps of Sunday's race, was investigated after conclusion of the Grand Prix when his car was found to be approximately 1.5 kilograms, or about 3.3 pounds, underweight. The infraction was grounds for immediate disqualification and the stewards ultimately ruled in that direction following a rather brief investigation.
Mercedes claimed responsibility for the error, acknowledging "that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team," according to the The Athletic's Luke Smith.
The disqualification ruined a heroic drive by Russell, who opted for a daring one-stop strategy while the rest of the field at the front of the race pitted twice during the lengthy laps around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Though the 26-year-old began giving up ample time near the end of his 34-lap stint on hard tires, he was quick enough in the turns to hold off Hamilton and a charging Piastri.
Following the disqualification, Hamilton was awarded the race win, his second in third races. Piastri backed up last week's victory in Hungary with a second-place finish and Charles Leclerc nabbed third to round out the podium. Championship leader Max Verstappen was elevated to fourth as McLaren's Lando Norris jumped up into fifth. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez came next, rounding out the results for the top four teams in sixth and seventh, respectively.
RB's Daniel Ricciardo was the other beneficiary of Russell's disqualification, earning the final points place in 10th behind eighth-place finisher Fernando Alonso and Alpine's Esteban Ocon.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lewis Hamilton Wins Belgian Grand Prix After George Russell Disqualified.
