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By Lydia Mee
Sports Contributing Writer
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Mercedes driver George Russell has been disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after celebrating a surprise victory at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
The British driver, who had clinched his second win of the 2024 season, found his accomplishment in jeopardy when FIA Formula One Technical Delegate Jo Bauer flagged an issue with the weight of Russell's car.
The initial letter which referred Russell to the Stewards stated:
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"After the Race, car number 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1. After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed. 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.
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"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."
Now, after the conclusion of a meeting between Mercedes representatives and the FIA Stewards, it has been confirmed that Russell has been disqualified. The latest statement from the Stewards read:
"The Stewards heard from the team representative of Car 63 (George Russell), the FIA Technical Delegate, the FIA Single Seater Director and the FIA Single Seater Technical Director.
"Car 63 was weighed on the FIA inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 796.5 kg. The calibration of both scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.
"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."
This means that Lewis Hamilton now takes the victory for the Belgian Grand Prix followed by Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in second and third positions, respectively.
2024 Belgian Grand Prix Results - Amended
- Lewis Hamilton
- Oscar Piastri
- Charles Leclerc
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- Carlos Sainz
- Sergio Perez
- Fernando Alonso
- Esteban Ocon
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Lance Stroll
- Alex Albon
- Pierre Gasly
- Kevin Magnussen
- Valtteri Bottas
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Logan Sargeant
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Zhou Guanyu - DNF
- George Russell - Disqualified
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