5 Things We Learned from the Dramatic Belgian Grand Prix

Mercedes driver George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix after falling foul of one of Formula 1’s most black-and-white rules: having an underweight car.

The Briton finished the race ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton after opting for an audacious one-stop strategy. The seven-time world champion inherited first place 70 minutes after the race when stewards announced Russell’s car was underweight.

McLaren’s rapid Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded off the top three. Championship front runners Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were never in contention for the win and finished over nine seconds behind Hamilton.

Here are five things we learned from the chaotic Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps:

5 – Red Bull is no longer the dominant team. Verstappen heads into the summer break with an 80-point lead over closest rival Norris. However, the Dutch driver hasn’t won a race since Spain and knows his rivals have closed the gap considerably. “We know we have a bit of work to do, we want to do better, and we’ll see what we can do,” he told F1.com.

4 – Charles Leclerc showed his worth with a strong drive despite having the fourth-fastest car in Belgium. He was classified as third after Russell’s disqualification and kept Verstappen at bay for most of the race. Leclerc saw his future teammate Hamilton grab the win and the duo will certainly be the strongest driver line-up in 2025.

3 – Lewis Hamilton showed his class with his 105th GP win and second in three races. It might not have been how the Mercedes driver wanted to win, but a win’s a win. The Briton didn’t look in contention for victory based on Friday’s practice sessions after the W15 had major issues, but in race pace the car was rapid. Hamilton passed pole-sitter Leclerc early on for the race lead and looked unstoppable until his teammate held him up until the chequered flag.

2 – Sergio Perez‘s days are numbered. The Mexican driver qualified on the first row and had a rapid car beneath him but still finished seventh, a massive 43 seconds behind the winner. The RB20 had the pace to win the GP, but Perez lacked the edge to fight for the win. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko will meet this week to discuss the way forward, with a move for RB’s Daniel Ricciardo to replace Perez looking like a strong possibility.

1 – Who was at fault for George Russell‘s disqualification? The Briton’s elation quickly turned to disappointment when the steward’s notice said: “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.” Russell’s second stint was more than a third of the race distance and ultimately the team got it wrong. Team boss Toto Wolff said: “We have to take our disqualification on the chin, we have made a mistake and need to ensure we learn from it.” The costly error meant that when car 63 was drained of all its fuel, it weighed 796.5kg, 1.5kg below the minimum weight of 798kg.

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.