British Formula One driver George Russell faced disqualification in the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix after a one-stop strategy initially saw him cross the line P1. He’d previously placed P6 in Spa in 2023, and P4 in 2022.  

Mixed conditions for Free Practice

Since part of the track had been resurfaced, it was important for George and Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team to learn as much as they could about how different tyre compounds acted.

George used fresh sets of Softs and Mediums in FP1 and focused on the finding the right balance in the car. He finished FP1 in P4.

After making adjustments to the balance, George was feeling happier with the car in FP2. He began the weekend’s second Free Practice on new Mediums, focusing on collecting more dry run data.

For his second run of FP2, George ran the Soft compound. His final run was on used Mediums, when he opted to do a long run to gather more information. He concluded FP2 in P6.

The following day, a rainy FP3 featured two Red Flags. As a result, George only completed two laps and ended FP3 in P19.

WATCH: 2024 BELGIAN FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

Wet qualifying in Spa

The rain stopped just before Qualifying, but a wet track meant George began Q1 on Intermediate tyres.

After two consecutive push laps, George initially placed P5.

George came into the pits for a fresh set of Intermediates. Beginning another lap with less than two minutes on the clock, he improved in each sector and initially went P3.

Ultimately finishing the first segment of Qualifying in P7, he was safely through to Q2.

George began Q2 on the same Intermediate tyres as the track continued to dry.

He later switched to fresh Intermediates and finished Q2 in P3.

With the risk of rain in Q3, George was straight out for his first run of the final Qualifying segment. With his first lap, George set a time of 1:54.243, placing him fifth after all drivers had their first push laps.

On his second push lap, George improved his time but stayed P5. As more drivers set further lap times and rain increased, George finished the session in P7. However, a penalty for Max Verstappen meant George would begin the race from sixth.

WATCH: 2024 BELGIAN QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Heartbreaking end after excellent one-stop strategy

In the warmer conditions at Spa, George started from P6 on fresh Medium tyres, with two Hards available to use.

George got away well and made up a place on the opening lap.

At the end of Lap 10, George pitted for Hards and returned to the track in P13.

On Lap 11, George overtook Yuki Tsunoda for P12, and later in the lap, he passed Kevin Magnussen to move into P11.

After drivers around him pitted, George was looking to overtake Sergio Pérez. On Lap 21, he passed Pérez into Turn 7 and moved up to fourth.

When Charles Leclerc pitted on Lap 26, George was up to P3 and considering a one-stop. Following pits for team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri, George was leading the race by Lap 31.

Shortly after, George confirmed he was happy to stay out and finish the race on the same set of tyres.

By Lap 37, Hamilton was closing the gap to George. A few laps later, he had DRS and was looking to make the overtake, but George was able to hold him off.

Having completed over three-quarters of the race on the same tyres, George crossed the line in P1, half a second ahead of his team-mate.

However, a few hours after the race, the FIA found that George's car was 1.5kg under the minimum weight at the end of the race. This meant George was unfortunately disqualified.

After the summer break, the 2024 F1 season will resume on 23-25 August for the Dutch Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2024 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

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George Russell, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One™ Team driver:

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. In what turned out to be my final stint, the tyres just kept getting better and better. I was nursing them in the early stages and as we went further, I became more and more convinced we could get to the end on them. It was a risk worth taking and it looked like it had paid off.

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. He drove a great race and was the fastest car out there on the two-stop strategy. Whilst I’m incredibly disappointed, I know we will bounce back stronger after the summer break, starting in Zandvoort.