Belgian GP Winner George Russell Disqualified For His Underweight Mercedes, Hamilton Declared Winner

Belgian GP winner George Russell disqualified after his Mercedes was found to be underweight following the race.

With Russell’s disqualification, his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton has been promoted to winner.

Mercedes currently sit fourth in the 2024 constructor standings despite their recent run of excellent results.

Red Bull leads with 408 points, followed by McLaren Mercedes with 366, Ferrari with 345 and Mercedes with 266.

Belgian Grand Prix winner George Russell was disqualified two and a half hours after his win on Sunday July 28th after his Mercedes race car was found to be 1.5 kilograms underweight in post-race checks.

With Russell’s disqualification, his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was promoted to winner (P1), while Oscar Piastri now takes P2 and Charles Leclerc moves up to P3.

While the car was initially found to be compliant with the minimum weight of 798 kg, Russell’s Mercedes was found to weigh 796.5 kg after fuel was drained from it.

Technical Delegate’s Report released after the race stated that :

“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.

“The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.

“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.”

A document released following the stewards’ hearing stated:

“During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly. The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.

“The stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied.”

Mercedes currently sit fourth in the 2024 constructor standings despite their recent run of excellent results. Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT leads with 408 points, followed by McLaren Mercedes with 366, Ferrari with 345 and Mercedes with 266.

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