George Russell knew what was in store for him when he emerged from the paddock doors at Spa on Sunday evening.
It was not until he returned home along the long, winding roads through the depths of the Ardennes that his worst fears were confirmed.
The third Grand Prix victory of his career, built on a bold and remarkable strategy, had been annulled. Russell was disqualified. The race win was inherited by his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
While Russell was celebrating the brilliant decision to stick with the one-stop strategy, the sport’s governing body was busy carrying out its usual post-race tests. It was there that an anomaly was detected.
It took the stewards two and a half hours to confirm their verdict, but as they awaited the verdict, the conciliatory look on the face of team boss Toto Wolff gave a hint of what was to come.
Britain’s George Russell looked to have added to his previous season’s win haul at the Austrian GP.
George Russell started sixth on the grid and held off a late attack from teammate Lewis Hamilton to secure what he thought would be his second winner’s trophy of the 2024 season.
But the stewards discovered that his winning Mercedes was 1.5 kilograms under the required weight.
Russell’s Mercedes teammate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton inherited victory at the Belgian GP
The verdict was guilty. Russell’s car, which looked to have brought him his second win of the season, was 1.5kg underweight and in breach of the regulations.
“We have to take it with all our strength. We made a mistake and a double would have been a great result ahead of the summer break,” said Wolff, who called Russell a “tyre whisperer” after his strategic masterstroke.
“We have to learn from this. As a team there were positive things, but for George it is a tremendous blow to have it taken away from him.”
Taking to social media, Russell, 26, said: “It’s heartbreaking. We left it all on the track today and I’m proud to have crossed the line in first place. There will be more to come.”
Even such a positive outlook can hardly console Russell after this cruel blow.
They say fortune favours the bold and it seemed the bravest decision had brought the greatest reward for Russell, who started the day in sixth place.
With 12 laps to go and the Mercedes driver in his prime, his team posed the question. Having stopped at the end of lap 10, would Russell go off track and not pit again? Russell resisted the temptation to follow the rest of the field and held firm.
On fresh tyres, Russell’s teammate Lewis Hamilton looked set to be the beneficiary of that decision. As the laps ticked by, Russell was an easy target on his battered tyres. Or so we thought.
Max Verstappen finished fifth (now fourth) after starting 11th due to a grid penalty.
McLaren’s Lando Norris could only manage sixth (now fifth) as he was outpaced by teammate Piastri for the second weekend in a row and lost further ground to Verstappen.
Hamilton’s advances were too little, too late as Russell clung on to cross the line first.
“After all the data we had on Friday suggesting that a one-stop shop was not even close to being viable, you wondered, ‘Are we missing something here? Why is no one else doing this?'” Russell said, before learning his fate.
‘It shows that we have a lot of sensors and data points in these F1 cars, but we are only 20 drivers and sometimes you feel it.
“You can feel the tyres sliding on the track and you just have to trust your instinct.”
Mercedes was unable to diagnose the exact cause of the abnormal weight loss on Sunday night.
The only thing that will help ease the pain is that victory went to Hamilton, who drove a brilliant race to fend off the chasing pack.
That group included Lando Norris, who finished fifth on a day when it was imperative for him to take advantage of the 10-place grid penalty imposed on title rival Max Verstappen.
Worse still, Norris finished one place behind the Dutchman, whose rescue act ensured he extended his lead at the top of the standings to 78 points.
Toto Wolff described Russell as the “tyre whisperer” after crossing the finish line, but will now be wondering what might have become of his Mercedes team following Russell’s disqualification in Belgium.
Lewis Hamilton finished just over half a second behind Russell and will now take the win
Norris never recovered after going off track and losing two places at the first corner.
“I didn’t really judge the start right. I didn’t want to be overtaken at the first corner so I left a gap and misjudged the start,” said Norris, who stalled at the final chicane later in the race and ended his hopes of overtaking Verstappen.
The 24-year-old Briton looks like a man who carries the weight of the world at the moment. He is certainly far from his usual cheerful self. One suspects that the four-week break until the next race in the Netherlands will do him a world of good.
‘We all need it (the break). I think I need it to reset myself. I’ve lost a lot of points in the last three or four races for stupid things.
“There is no single reason, just trying too hard and maybe paying the price for it.”