George Russell described his disqualification from the Belgian Grand Prix as “heartbreaking” after seeing victory taken away from him after the race.
Mercedes initially secured a 1-2 with Russell pulling off an audacious one-stop technique to beat Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri in an exciting end. Submit-race scrutineering then discovered Russell’s automotive to be 1.5 kg underweight and, as that could be a technical infringement, it mechanically results in a disqualification from the outcomes.
“Heartbreaking…” Russell stated. “We got here in 1.5 kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race. We left all of it on the monitor as we speak and I take satisfaction in crossing the road first. There will likely be extra to come back.”
Talking earlier than he was disqualified, Russell stated the choice to one-stop was a spontaneous one which had not been thought of forward of the race.
“We spoke a lot this morning in regards to the two-stop, the three-stop, however all of the sudden the tires, the automotive felt actually, actually good. I acquired into this groove, and particularly after I acquired into the lead, there have been no again markers in entrance, no different automobiles in entrance — it form of felt like driving a simulator. It was fairly bizarre.
“I used to be trying on the hole to Lewis and the speed he was catching me, and I simply thought there’s no motive why we are able to’t keep out right here and do that one cease and try to make it work.”
Russell’s disqualification is the primary time a driver has misplaced a victory for a technical infringement after the race since Michael Schumacher at Spa-Francorchamps 30 years in the past, and is one the workforce didn’t dispute.
“We’ve got to take our disqualification on the chin,” workforce principal Toto Wolff stated. “We’ve got clearly made a mistake and want to make sure we be taught from it. We’ll go away, consider what occurred and perceive what went unsuitable. To lose a 1-2 is irritating and we are able to solely apologize to George who drove such a robust race.
“Lewis is in fact promoted to P1; he was the quickest man on the two-stop and is a deserving winner.”
