F1 stunned as win overturned for ‘heartbreaking’ reason

Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first place at the Belgian Grand Prix after race officials disqualified his Mercedes teammate George Russell for driving an underweight car.
Russell crossed the line first after making only one pit stop, finishing just ahead of Hamilton. He celebrated the win in Spa, which would have been the third of the British driver’s career.
But race officials found that his car weighed in below the established limits and ruled to disqualify his result.
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“It is heartbreaking to be disqualified from today’s race. It had been an unbelievable grand prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work,” Russell said. “Despite the disqualification, I am of course proud to have crossed the line first. It is also good that the team was still able to take the victory with Lewis.”
George Russell of the UK was disqualified after winning in Belgium. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Hamilton took his record haul to 105 F1 career victories for the former seven-time world champion. He has now won two of the last three races after his triumph at Silverstone earlier this month ended a wait of nearly 1000 days without a win dating back to the penultimate race of 2021. His resurgence comes after he decided to join Ferrari next season and put an end to his 12 years with Mercedes.
“I feel for George, and you don’t want to win a race through a disqualification, but we have been back in the fight for victories in the past few races,” Hamilton said. “It is incredibly competitive now.”
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moved up into second place, while pole-sitter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the podium.
George Russell of the UK celebrates before having his win stripped. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Points leader Max Verstappen was fourth after the three-time defending champion started from 11th following a 10-place grid penalty for using one too many engines in his Red Bull.
Lando Norris endured another poor start in his McLaren and was fifth, allowing Verstappen to extend his championship lead to 78 points.
The disqualification also promoted Daniel Ricciardo from 11th into 10th, earning him a solitary championship point.