A mere 1.5kg was the difference between victory and nul points for George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix, with the Mercedes man disqualified after a magnificent victory around the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
Here are the winners and losers from the Belgian Grand Prix.
George Russell: 9
Qualified: 6th, Race Finish: DSQ
After a reasonable qualifying performance, Russell was firmly in the mix from the start, being forced wide at T8 by the slow-starting Lando Norris.
Midway through the race, the decision was taken to implement a one-stop strategy with the goal seemingly being what would have been a more-than-creditable podium finish.
With team-mate Lewis Hamilton on two stops, Russell would find himself in the lead, with the likelihood of being caught by his team-mate and potentially the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, but demonstrating a masterclass in tyre management, Russell rebuffed any challenges and took the chequered flag for a brilliant one-two finish, exceeding Team Principal Toto Wolff’s pre-race expectations of a podium being the best possible result.
However, the stewards would intervene and Russell was disqualified after discovering his car was 1.5kg underweight, but the outcome would not take anything away from what was a race performance that ranks as one of Russell’s very best to date.
Lewis Hamilton: 8.5
Qualified: 3rd, Race Result: 1st
Promoted to third after Max Verstappen’s grid penalty, Hamilton tussled with Sergio Perez on the first lap, breezing past the under-fire Red Bull man on the approach to Les Combes.
Hamilton’s race was a calm, assured and near-faultless performance that we would come to expect from the seven-times champion, but after finding himself stuck behind Russell in the latter stages, he was unable to find a way past his team-mate.
Whilst the final result was harsh on Russell, it would hand victory to the driver perhaps just as deserving of P1.
Oscar Piastri: 8
Qualified: 5th, Race Result: 3rd
On a high from his first Grand Prix win in Hungary last time out, the young Australian drove another impressive race. After slightly overshooting his marks in the pits on lap 30, Piastri exited some four seconds behind Charles Leclerc, but quickly caught the Ferrari and sailed through into P3.
Rapid towards the end of the Grand Prix, Piastri was catching the Mercedes pair as the laps began to tick down, and by the end of the race, he would be within a second of Hamilton and Russell to take another podium. He may be left wondering what might have been had his braking been on-point when stopping earlier in the race.
Lando Norris: 6.5
Qualified: 4th, Race Result: 5th
Any ambition Norris might have had of overcoming his Hungaroring disappointment was swiftly brought to a quite literal stutter, as the McLaren fell to seventh on the first lap, drifting behind his team-mate, Russell and Carlos Sainz.
After being put onto Hards early-on, Norris drove a good middle stint and looked set to take Verstappen, but a lock-up at the final chicane was his best chance gone.
Max Verstappen: 7
Qualified: 11th [1st before penalty], Race Result: 5th
Taking a ten-place grid penalty before qualifying, Verstappen was in need of P1 to limit the damage, especially with chances of repeating his 2022 heroics slim. He did just that and by a whopping six tenths from Leclerc.
In the race, he made steady progress, reaching eighth spot by lap three and as the race progressed, found himself battling Leclerc and Lando Norris, harrying the former towards the end, but was unable to finish higher than fifth, in what was an unspectacular but ultimately positive day at the office for the reigning world champion.
Sergio Perez: 4
Qualified: 2nd, Race Result: 7th
After nailing a good performance in qualifying, Perez’s race quickly descended into a lackadaisical disappointment that fans and his Red Bull team have unfortunately become so used to. Losing position to Hamilton on the opening lap set the tone as he fell back down the order and finished behind his team-mate, despite starting nine positions ahead.
Charles Leclerc: 6.5
Qualified: 1st, Race Result: 3rd
After inheriting pole position after Verstappen’s penalty, Leclerc led the first three laps of the race, but was deposed by Hamilton on the Kemmel straight before Les Combes. The Ferrari’s race pace never looked like materialising, and a poor second stop by Ferrari compounded his afternoon, finishing eight seconds adrift of Piastri.
Carlos Sainz: 6.5
Qualified: 7th, Race Result: 6th
Sainz made little progress throughout the race, but was able to recover time after an excursion across the gravel at T14 early in the race, a brief lapse in concentration for the Spaniard who may have been thinking about his Williams announcement for 2025.
Fernando Alonso: 6.5
Qualified: 8th, Race Result: 8th
The Spanish veteran out-qualified team-mate Lance Stroll by seven places, and was able to maintain his position throughout the race. With no progress or regress, Alonso more-than-likely used all the pace available to him in his Aston Martin.
Lance Stroll: 6
Qualified: 15th, Race Result: 11th.
Unable to match his team-mate in qualifying, Stroll drove better on race day, overcoming four positions to finish 11th, but eight seconds adrift of the final points place.
Esteban Ocon: 6.5
Qualified: 9th, Race Result: 9th
Perhaps buoyed by the news of his forthcoming move to Haas, or by the Wolverine livery on his Alpine, Ocon gave his team a brighter day with some much-needed points with an assured performance.
Pierre Gasly: 5.5
Qualified: 12th, Race Result: 13th
Gasly was unable to match the pace of his team-mate over the whole weekend, coming 13th amidst a gaggle of cars in the midfield that did not possess the race pace to finish close to the points.
Daniel Ricciardo: 7
Qualified: 13th, Race Result: 10th
Despite the revelation that Perez looks set to stay with Red Bull, Ricciardo put-in an audition to take the seat should Christian Horner come calling, with a positive performance, taking the final points spot, finishing only six seconds short of 8th-placed Alonso and only 12 seconds behind Perez.
Yuki Tsunoda: 4.5
Qualified: 20th [18th before penalty], Race Result: 18th
Tsunoda did not have his experienced team-mate’s pace all weekend, and any chance of progress in the race was stunted by being relegated back a row on the grid after an engine penalty.
Kevin Magnussen: 5.5
Qualified: 17th, Race Result: 14th
With Magnussen now likely to be out of the F1 picture after Ocon’s Haas announcement, the Dane showed experience and guile, and his usual amount of endless effort, eventually bettering his qualifying result by three positions.
Nico Hulkenberg: 4
Qualified: 16th, Race Result: 18th
It was not to be a good day at the office for Haas’ other veteran driver, finishing almost one-and-a-half minutes off the victor, losing two positions after what was also an uninspiring qualifying performance.
Alex Albon: 5
Qualified: 10th, Race Result: 12th
The Williams’ race pace could ultimately not match its qualifying speed, with Albon slipping back two places to finish outside of the points. The Thai star might be forgiven thinking that he will need to firmly assert his talent in the remaining races, aware that for the first time in Williams career, he will have a team-mate to match his usual speed from next season.
Logan Sergeant: 5
Qualified: 18th, Race Result: 17th
With his F1 career now all but over from the end of this year, Sergeant will be surely looking to take pride from what is left of it with some good showings, but unfortunately for him, the car was not forgiving on the Spa circuit. However, he was able to finish one place above his qualifying position, finishing three seconds clear of Hulkenberg.
Valtteri Bottas: 4.5
Qualified: 14th, Race Result: 15th
It would not be a happy weekend for the Saubers, with the Finn finishing a dismal 15th, behind Magnussen and Stroll, whom he out-qualified on Saturday, having scraped into Q2.
Zhou Guanyu: N/A
Qualified: 19th, Race Result: DNF
The Chinese driver’s weekend gave him little opportunity to show other teams he is worth signing for next season, qualifying 19th and retiring on the fifth lap due to a hydraulics issue.
