Belgian Grand Prix 2024: Disqualifications and New Race Winners

George Russell scraped his second win this season at the Belgian Grand Prix before being disqualified due to weight regulations; teammate Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first.

The Belgian Grand Prix was the last race before the summer break, and certainly made for an exciting watch.

In the week leading up to the race, the F1 world was greeted with the news that Kevin Magnussen would be leaving Haas once again, and that he would be replaced by Esteban Ocon. This leaves a free seat at Alpine, where Bruno Famin has also announced his exit as Team Principal.

Sunday was a sunny, dry day – completely different conditions from qualifying the day before

Additionally, Max Verstappen was handed a 10-place grid penalty for taking a new power unit.
Saturday’s qualifying was met with rain which may have impacted certain teams or drivers. Max Verstappen qualified quickest, but having been handed a 10-place grid penalty earlier in the week for taking a new power unit, he started well down the order. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was promoted to pole position.

Sunday was a sunny, dry day – completely different conditions from qualifying the day before – and no wet tyres were required for the race.

As soon as the lights went out, Leclerc maintained his lead whilst Hamilton overtook Sergio Perez, and Verstappen made up several places. Zhou Guanyu was the only driver to retire after a hydraulic issue.

Norris and Verstappen kept fighting until the very end

The rest of the race was smooth sailing, with most drivers favouring a two-stop strategy. Everyone was undercutting each other, meaning that there were many overtakes throughout. Both George Russell and Fernando Alonso opted for a one-stop strategy, an approach that would only end in heartbreak for the Brit.

As the race was ending, the top 10 were having small battles with each other. Norris and Verstappen kept fighting until the very end, especially interesting as McLaren, and Norris in particular, seem to have emerged as favourites to beat Red Bull. Near the front of the pack, Leclerc and Piastri were racing against each other for the third podium spot which Piastri took. However, the battle for the top step was fought by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, less than a second apart. In the end, it was the younger driver who would take the victory after 44 laps.

Unfortunately for Russell, he was later disqualified as his car was 1.5kg underweight. Lewis Hamilton was pronounced as the new race winner, with Piastri in second and Charles Leclerc making up the top three. Daniel Ricciardo took the final point, moving into 10th place.

After all this drama, F1 heads into its summer break. With empty seats still remaining, it will be interesting to see where still unattached drivers go, and if we will see any new faces in the sport. In particular, the F1 world is holding its breath to see where Carlos Sainz will go after he was replaced by Hamilton at Ferrari. The season will continue in the Netherlands on the last weekend of August.