A dream day for Mercedes on the Belgian Grand Prix was not less than half spoiled after the automobiles reached the checkered flag as preliminary race winner George Russell was disqualified for having an underweight automotive, giving his teammate Lewis Hamilton the victory.

Russell, who held off Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri within the closing laps of Sunday’s race, was investigated after conclusion of the Grand Prix when his automotive was discovered to be roughly 1.5 kilograms, or about 3.3 kilos, underweight. The infraction was grounds for instant disqualification and the stewards finally dominated in that course following a slightly transient investigation.

Mercedes claimed accountability for the error, acknowledging “that there have been no mitigating circumstances and that it was a real error by the staff,” in response to the The Athletic‘s Luke Smith.

The disqualification ruined a heroic drive by Russell, who opted for a daring one-stop technique whereas the remainder of the sphere on the entrance of the race pitted twice in the course of the prolonged laps across the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Although the 26-year-old started giving up ample time close to the tip of his 34-lap stint on arduous tires, he was fast sufficient within the turns to carry off Hamilton and a charging Piastri.

Following the disqualification, Hamilton was awarded the race win, his second in third races. Piastri backed up final week’s victory in Hungary with a second-place end and Charles Leclerc nabbed third to spherical out the rostrum. Championship chief Max Verstappen was elevated to fourth as McLaren’s Lando Norris jumped up into fifth. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez got here subsequent, rounding out the outcomes for the highest 4 groups in sixth and seventh, respectively.

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was the opposite beneficiary of Russell’s disqualification, incomes the ultimate factors place in tenth behind eighth-place finisher Fernando Alonso and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.