SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Lewis Hamilton emerged as the winner of a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after Mercedes teammate George Russell, who took the chequered flag, was disqualified when his car was found to be underweight following the race.
It is the second win of the season for the seven-time world champion following his success at Silverstone earlier this month and the 105th of his Formula One career.
It was also the third Mercedes victory in the last four races following a poor run of results in the last two years although they initially thought they had wrapped up a compelling one-two.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was elevated to second with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moving up from fourth to third.
The 26-year-old Russell, who started sixth on the grid, produced a stunning performance on the track, the only driver to opt for a one-stop policy that saw him nursing his second set of tires for 34 of the 44 laps.
He was able to hold off Hamilton and the flying McLaren of Piastri, who finished third, to claim what he thought was his third grand prix victory.
His joy, however, was short-lived as a technical report released after the race said Russell’s car had been found to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
“Car 63 is disqualified from the race classification,” the stewards announced in a statement.
“All other drivers move up in the classification,” they added.
Russell’s car was initially weighed at 798kg, which is exactly on the minimum weight limit for car and driver combined.
But stewards found it had not been fully drained of fuel and when it was weighed again it registered 796.5kg.
“Heartbreaking,” Russell said on social media.
“We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race.
“We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first.
“There will be more to come,” he added.
Leclerc, who started on pole position, crossed the line in fourth ahead of three-time world champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull, Lando Norris in the second McLaren and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.
They were followed by Sergio Perez, who started second, in the second Red Bull, two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and Esteban Ocon of Alpine.
After Saturday’s deluge, the race began in bright, warm and dry conditions.
Leclerc enjoyed a smooth start from pole as Hamilton beat Perez to take second into La Source, where they battled wheel to wheel.
Norris had a poor start and ran through a gravel trap, falling to seventh behind Russell and Sainz as the early order settled while Verstappen gained two places to rise to ninth, having started 11th due to a 10-place penalty for taking an additional new engine.
Hamilton’s pace took him within reach of Leclerc on lap three when, using Drag Reduction System (DRS), he swept into the lead on the Kemmel Straight.
He stayed there and by lap five led Leclerc by a second ahead of Perez, Piastri and Russell with Sainz sixth, the only top 10 driver on hard tires, ahead of Norris and Verstappen.
Russell and Verstappen came in after 10 laps, both switching from mediums to hards and re-joining in 13th and 14th respectively before Hamilton, Perez and Piastri pitted one lap later.
Norris finally pitted on lap 16, rejoining eighth behind Verstappen with whom he battled until the end of the race.
With all of the other contenders pitting a second time, Russell became the fifth race leader and opted to stay out on the one-stop strategy.
Hamilton closed but instead of waving his teammate through, Russell was given the all-clear to race him, a potentially dangerous strategy from Mercedes as Piastri quickly closed on them.
With five laps to go, Hamilton was two seconds behind Russell and Piastri 5.4 adrift, the top three setting up a grandstand finish that saw Piastri close up to within two seconds while the Mercedes men tussled to the flag.
“We had such a disaster on Friday when the car was nowhere,” said Hamilton.
“We made some changes and it was difficult to know in the wet yesterday, but the car was fantastic.”
Verstappen still leads the championship race with 277 points, 78 clear of Norris. Red Bull top the constructors’ championship 42 points ahead of McLaren.
Formula One now heads into a summer break with the next race in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix on August 25.

A week after ranting on the team radio in Budapest, Max Verstappen heads to the Belgian Grand Prix warned to take “nothing for granted” and advised by Red Bull to give up late-night simulation racing during race weekends.

The series leader and three-time world champion departed Hungary in a petulant mood after finishing a frustrated fifth, swearing on team radio and in post-race interviews, having gone to bed at three am before the race.

It was his and Red Bull’s third consecutive race without a win and he will need to deliver a more composed and professional performance on his preferred circuit on Sunday to avoid extending his winless run to four for the first time since 2020.

Another defeat and his commanding supremacy of the past, he won 19 of 22 races last year, will be forgotten.

“Hungary was a tricky race and a weekend to forget and move forward from,” said Dutchman Verstappen, whose combative manner did not go unnoticed.

“We have been working to optimize our performance and get the best out of the car that we possibly can.

“Spa has always been my favorite track with fast corners and lots of opportunities to overtake. The fans are also great and we get a lot of support there,” he added.

After winning the last three Belgian Grands Prix, Verstappen will be seeking to return to form with a fourth victory, but he may have to start from the back half of the grid if, as expected, Red Bull, fit his car with a fifth new engine of the season.

The limit for new power units is four, but Verstappen has proved at Spa in the past that he can overcome grid penalties when he seizes the momentum.

Born in Belgium to a Belgian mother, but grew up in the Netherlands, Verstappen always enjoys passionate backing from the local crowd and he may need it as he bids to extend his lead, trimmed to 76 points last Sunday, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Coincidentally, Norris, who was also involved in some colorful ‘team orders’ radio exchanges last Sunday, also has a Belgian mother and he will be seeking to reduce the gap further by winning on Sunday, after handing victory last weekend to his team-mate Oscar Piastri following instructions to do so.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has warned the threat from McLaren, the in-form team with the fastest car, and both Mercedes and Ferrari, could wreck their season if they cannot respond and gather points more emphatically than they have.

“We’re just going to develop the fastest car we can, and that’s what we’ll continue to do,” said Horner.

“In the drivers’ championship, obviously Max has a good lead — but that can diminish very quickly, so, nothing can be taken for granted.”

The team’s influential director Helmut Marko, a close adviser and confidante to the world champion, told speedweek.com: “We agreed that he would no longer run simulations so late in the future.”

Most attention may be focussed on the leading title contenders, but that will suit Piastri who showed commendable assurance as he claimed his maiden victory last Sunday.

“Spa’s not been the happiest of hunting grounds for us recently, but I’m confident we’ll be strong,” said the 22-year-old Australian.

“We’ve got a car that’s become a real all-rounder so I’m super confident and I think the team should be as well.”

After winning his home British race and then finishing third for Mercedes last weekend, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton will also be a challenger on a track where he has won four times as will Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took pole last year and won in 2019.