George Russell faces a potential disqualification from the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday after his car was found to be below the minimum weight requirement following the race.
The Brit drove a superb one-stop strategy to take the win from P6 ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
However, the Technical Delegate’s Report released by the FIA following Sunday’s race says that his car has not met the minimum weight requirement, with Russell referred to the stewards.
“After the Race, car number 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1. After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed.
“The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled.
The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kh. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.”
The FIA’s Formula One Technical Delegate Jo Bauer concluded “As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the Competition, I am referring this matter to the Stewards for their consideration.”
If Russell were to be disqualified by the Stewards, team-mate Lewis Hamilton would inherit the win, with McLaren’s Piastri promoted to P2, and Charles Leclerc in P3.
Russell’s lost win would also be a serious dent to Mercedes’ Constructors Championship bid, widening the deficit to Ferrari, which currently stands at 56 points after Sunday’s race.
