F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Previews - Source: GettyF1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi – Previews – Source: Getty

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff released a statement after driver George Russell was stripped of his win in the F1 Belgian GP, as he admitted that the team clearly made a mistake. The race at Spa was a tantalizing one, as Lewis Hamilton took the lead early on. From that point onward, the driver managed the race brilliantly and was in complete control.

By the time Hamilton made his second stop, it was almost certain that the Mercedes driver was heading towards his second win of the year. It was during this time, however, that it became clear that his teammate George Russell had opted for a gamble where he wasn’t going to stop the second time.

Hamilton tried to catch Russell by the end of the race but was unable to overtake his teammate in the end. As the chequered flag fell, Russell was the winner of the F1 Belgian GP, but shortly afterward, it was found that his Mercedes was 1.5kg underweight. This is a technical infringement, and it led to the driver getting disqualified from the race.

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Speaking on the disqualification, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admitted that the team made a mistake. In a statement issued on the team’s social media, he said:

“We have to take our disqualification on the chin. We have clearly made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it. We will go away, evaluate what happened and understand what went wrong. To lose a 1-2 is frustrating and we can only apologise to George who drove such a strong race. Lewis is of course promoted to P1; he was the fastest guy on the two-stop and is a deserving winner.”

He added:

“Despite the disqualification, there are many positives we can take from this weekend. We had a car that was the benchmark in today’s race across two different strategies. Only a few months ago, that would have been inconceivable. We head into the summer break having won three of the past four races. We will look to come back after shutdown rejuvenated and with the aim of maintaining our positive trajectory.”

George Russell reacts to the disqualification

George Russell took to social media to share his reaction to the disqualification. This would have been Russell’s third career win after his first win in Sao Paulo in 2022, followed by the second one in Austria this season. The driver had a splendid race, which was a result of his brilliant decision-making. He wrote via X:

“Heartbreaking… We came in 1.5kg underweight and have been disqualified from the race. We left it all on the track today and I take pride in crossing the line first. There will be more to come.”

The driver goes into the summer break on the back of a heartbreak in Spa. There are still positives for Mercedes and the driver as they try to become contenders at the front.