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George Russell's second win of the Formula One campaign was wiped from the record books due to an underweight car.
His disqualification moved Russell's Mercedes teammate, Lewis Hamilton, up from second to first, handing Hamilton his 105th Formula One win all time. Oscar Piastri went from third to second, while Charles Leclerc earned a spot on the podium.
Russell held off Hamilton in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to claim the checkered flag. However, the FIA said 2.8 liters of fuel had been improperly drained from Russell's car after he had originally hit the minimum weight limit.
Formula One said Russell was therefore disqualified.
"During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly," an F1 statement said. "The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circ*mstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.
"The stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied."
Mercedes addressed Russell's infraction and said they had to take it "on the chin."
"We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it," the team said.
Hamilton's win means the day wasn't all bad for Mercedes.
He led the field a little past the halfway mark before coming in to pit. That allowed Piastri to jump out in front, but the Australian lost valuable ground when he pitted on Lap 31.
Formula 1 @F1LAP 31/44 <br><br>Careful, Oscar! 😮<br><br>Piastri overruns his pit box and loses valuable time on the tyre change. He's back out on track in P4 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BelgianGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BelgianGP</a> <a href="https://t.co/Lb3P6IfzJU">pic.twitter.com/Lb3P6IfzJU</a>
When the dust settled, Russell and Hamilton were running in first and second, which set the stage for a dramatic fight to the finish for the two Mercedes drivers.
Russell's one-stop strategy raised the stakes because the longer the race went on, the more he was at risk of watching Hamilton or Piastri overtake him. The gambit could've backfired in a big way, and the result might've been different if the Belgian Grand Prix extended to 45 or 46 laps, such was the ground Piastri gained on Russell and Hamilton.
Instead, Mercedes seemingly played the race perfectly, and Russell expertly managed his car while defending against Hamilton.
Phillip Horton @PHortonF1George Russell brilliantly manages a one-stop to win the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BelgianGP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BelgianGP</a>, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri. Just half a second in it. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/F1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#F1</a>
All of that will be overshadowed by what transpired when the race ended, though.
Max Verstappen entered with a comfortable lead over Lando Norris in the driver standings, but he hasn't been anywhere near as dominant on the track as he was in 2023. His season took another somewhat unexpected turn Friday when he received a 10-place grid penalty after using his fifth different engine.
As a result, Verstappen started from 11th and was already playing down the likelihood of a win after qualifying concluded.
"I mean I'm of course not as confident as I was the last two years around here in coming back to the front," he said Saturday. "I still see more as like a damage limitation race. That's how it is but at least today was the best possible we could do in terms of the starting position for tomorrow."
Verstappen managed to move up the leaderboard but couldn't muster a sustained challenge on the race leaders en route to a fourth-place showing.
The Formula One season goes on a nearly monthlong break before the Dutch Grand Prix at Circuit Zandvoort on Aug. 25. Verstappen is the three-time reigning champion in the event and will enter as the favorite barring another setback in qualifying.
The way Hamilton is racing makes him a formidable challenger.
