Breaking: George Russell was disqualified after his car was deemed 'under the minimum weight' by the FIA
Keep reading for details on what happened, including the post-race disqualification for George Russell.
Three drivers received grid penalties ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. See the details below.
- Max Verstappen receives a 10-place grid penalty for taking his fifth internal combustion engine (ICE) for the season, one more than the limit. This means that Charles Leclerc will start from P1
- Yuki Tsunoda also replaced a significant number of power unit (PU) components, including his ICE, turbocharger, motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), and energy store. This amounts to a 60-place grid penalty which puts him squarely in P20
- After the session, the stewards imposed a 3-place grid penalty to Guanyu Zhou for impeding Max Verstappen. Zhou, who qualified P20, will provisionally still start from P19 as Yuki Tsunoda's penalty is more severe
The Belgian Grand Prix had many lead changes and unexpected front runners:
- Charles Leclerc held onto the lead for a few laps after starting the race on pole
- Lewis Hamilton wasted no time in claiming P1 and leading the race for a significant amount of time
- Guanyu Zhou had a nightmare Grand Prix as it ended within the first three laps due to technical failures
- The majority of the drivers were on a two-stop strategy and shook up the field countless times
- The lead of the race changed many times with Hamilton, Russel, Leclerc, Sainz and Piastri all taking turns leading the field
- Mercedes is proving to be a competitive team in the 2024 championship with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell fighting each other for the win
- Oscar Piastri is really showing his form as he claimed another podium this season
- George Russell claimed the win ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Oscar Piastri
George Russell's penalty: After the race, the FIA weighed George Russell's car per standing operating procedures. The car was found to be 798.0kg, and after fuel was drained it weighed in at 796.5kg. This weight falls below the minimum requirement in TR Article 4.1 and was referred to the Stewards for deliberation. At the deliberation, Mercedes confirmed the scales were properly calibrated and it was an unmitigated team error.
Because the weight minimum must be met at all times, George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix, and all other drivers were promoted one position.
Belgian Grand Prix Results
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