By Joe Murphy
Lewis Hamilton may not have crossed the line first, but he took the victory at the recent Belgian Grand Prix as Formula 1 enters into its annual summer holiday on the back of a fascinating Grand Prix.
George Russell made the one-stop strategy work to his advantage, ultimately holding off teammate Lewis Hamilton by less than half a second, whilst Oscar Piastri finished a further few tenths behind the Mercedes duo. Subsequent car weight checks in Parc Ferme revealed that Russell’s car was too light and therefore received the slam dunk disqualification, as other cars have suffered in recent years. The enquiry into how this happened has been generated and an investigation is currently underway.
This meant the win, arguably the best drive of his career, was taken away from George and gifted to his teammate who claimed his 105th race victory. Oscar Piastri therefore finished second whilst Charles Leclerc could only manage a belated third, despite starting on Pole. Behind these men, Max Verstappen made sure Lando Norris didn’t close the gap heading into August finishing ahead of his closest rival in the McLaren, whilst Perez and Sainz could only manage lowly points finishes.
The issue of Russell’s car being illegal is something Toto Wolff and Co. must look into moving forward as Mercedes nearly had their first 1-2 finish in years. Yet it was taken away from them. In around a months time, it will be intriguing to see how both the drivers and constructors championship races, play out.
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