Mercedes to look into Russell disqualification: 'Need to understand what happened'
F1 News
While the two Mercedes cars were the the first two to cross the finish line at the Belgian Grand Prix, George Russell got disqualified by the stewards, as his car was below the minimum weight limit. The team's trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, reacted to that error that cost the Briton's his third victory in F1 at Spa-Francorchamps, the team report.
"It's really tough for George to have been disqualified from the win after such an impressive drive. He did a brilliant job to hang onto the tyres and defend to the finish," Shovlin began after the team have learned Lewis Hamilton was promoted to finish in first place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
"We don't yet understand why the car was underweight following the race but will investigate thoroughly to find the explanation. We expect that the loss of rubber from the one stop was a contributing factor, and we'll work to understand how it happened. We won't be making any excuses though. It is clearly not good enough and we need to make sure it doesn't happen again," he explained what happened to Russell's car.
Shovlin happy with the car
Instead of Russell third, it was Lewis Hamilton's 105th victory in Formula 1. "It was a relief to have Lewis in second to inherit the victory. He also drove a strong race and was the fastest two-stopping car out there today," Shovlin praised the seven-time world champion.
"We can be pleased with the car pace but overall, it's disappointing not to walk away with the 1-2. That is particularly true after such a good recovery from one of our most difficult Fridays, and following a race that was so well managed by the team. We'll learn from this and be back strong in Zandvoort after the summer break," the director concluded.