Oh, the drama! George Russell’s Belgian GP victory was ripped away.
- Russell executed a near-perfect one-stop strategy to claim the win.
- FIA disqualified him post-race for car’s underweight issue.
- Toto Wolff pinpoints a mix of pride and regret.
- Russell stays hopeful, promising future victories.
George Russell was on cloud nine after a masterful one-stop strategy saw him clinch what he thought was his third career victory at the Belgian GP. He held off teammate Lewis Hamilton, making the win even sweeter.
But that joy was short-lived. Following routine checks, the FIA’s F1 technical director Jo Bauer discovered that Russell’s Mercedes W15 was under the minimum weight of 796.5kg, a clear breach of Article 4.1 of the technical regulations.
Russell took to social media to express his heartbreak, revealing the car had come in just 1.5kg underweight. ‘We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come,’ he wrote.
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff shared mixed feelings about the incident. While recognizing the mistake, he highlighted the ‘benchmark’ performance of the team. ‘If the stewards decide against us, it is what it is… We have to learn from that and, as a team, you know there are more positives to take.’
Despite the setback, Wolff remains optimistic about Russell’s future, emphasizing that this disqualification is merely a bump in the road for the promising driver.
One disqualification won’t define George Russell’s career; the best is yet to come.
Source: Planetf1
