The reason is the car’s underweight. With the disqualification, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) was declared the winner, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri second and Charles Leclerc third in his Ferrari.
SPA-FRANCHORCHAMPS, Belgium—A few hours after winning the most victorious Grand Prix race of his career, Mercedes driver Goerge Russell faced a major disappointment. His car was found by inspection to be underweight. Even with the fuel drained, it was still 1.5 kilograms under the recommended weight limit. The situation was then recommended to the race stewards, who determined that Russell’s car be disqualified.
Stewards statement: Car 63 was weighed on the FIA inside and outside scales, with both scales showing the same result of 796.5kg. The competitor confirmed and witnessed the calibration of both scales.
During the hearing, the team representative confirmed that the measurement was 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.
The stewards determined that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations has been breached, and, therefore, the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied. Competitors are reminded that they have the right to appeal certain stewards’ decisions, per Article 15 of the FIA International Sporting Code and Chapter 4 of the FIA Judicial and Disciplinary Rules, within the applicable time limits.”
Russell won the race using only one stop, which could have led to the physical wear of his four tires, and that was the reason for him also having enough light weight to hold off teammate Lewis Hamilton for the win. In addition, this race is 4.3 miles long, and because of this, the cars must pull into the parc ferme right after the finish at the pit lane exit at turn one. Without a cooldown lap, which happens on most circuits, the cars cannot pick up any discarded rubber, which can eliminate any chances of having low weight.
George Russell: It’s heartbreaking. We left it all on the track today, and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come.
“You have to take it on the chin,” Mercedes Team Manager Toto Wolff stated. “If the stewards decide against ourselves, it is what it is; a mistake could have happened, and one would have been a great result going into the summer break. It wouldn’t go any better. The positive from this race is that we had two cars that were the benchmark, with two different strategies. Who would have said that a few months ago? That is good to see.
