Belgian GP 2024: Magic “1-2” Mercedes, with Russell a triumphant winner

George Russell was sensational and deservedly took victory at the Belgian Grand Prix after a bold strategy – with just one tire change – led three-quarters of the way on the hard rubber at Spa to see the checkered flag first.

Rounding out the second step of the podium was fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who put exciting pressure on his Mercedes teammate in the closing stages of the race and could rightly feel disappointed not to win, having been extremely quick throughout. match. Oscar Piastri finished third in the race, having overtaken the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, a few laps before the finish.

As the red lights went out, Charles Leclerc made a very good start from pole position and easily turned first at La Source, as Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton found themselves wheel to wheel, giving Monegasque “air”. However, within just two laps Hamilton passed the Ferrari driver and took the lead. From there, the seven-time world champion looked strong on a track where he had won four times before.

While most of the grid opted for a two-pit stop strategy, Russell and Mercedes risked making just one pit stop on lap 10 – out of 44.

In the closing laps, Hamilton had closed the gap on his teammate and, despite coming very close, the 7-time world champion could not find a way past Russell, who crossed the line just half a second ahead of him for to take his third career F1 win. At the same time, this was the 60th “1-2” for Mercedes.

Max Verstappen cut losses, and not having the top car in the championship brought his Red Bull to 5th place, from 11th he started. Despite closing in on Verstappen, Lando Norris had to settle for 6th on a difficult day for the McLaren driver, with Carlos Sainz finishing 7th behind him after passing a disappointing Sergio Perez, who finished the race in 8th place.

Fernando Alonso picked up some valuable points for Aston Martin from 9th place and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon completed the top-10.

Race guide

Lewis Hamilton did everything right at Spa and yet somehow didn’t win. He made a great start from the second row of the grid, led on lap 3 and in the closing stages of the race he quickly closed the gap on his Mercedes teammate – who was following a one-stop strategy – to eventually see the checkered flag in 2nd, just 0 .5 seconds behind the winner. No wonder the Briton’s performance was recognized by the public and he was voted the driver of the race.

More specifically, the 39-year-old Hamilton collected 26.1% of the votes, followed by Oscar Piastri (14.9%), Max Verstappen (10.7%), George Russell (9.4%), Charles Leclerc (7.1%).

Fastest lap

The fastest lap of the day was set by Sergio Perez on the 44th and final lap of the race, with a time of 1:44.701, and he took the extra point. They were followed by Lando Norris with 1:45.563, Oscar Piastri with 1:45.840, Max Verstappen with 1:46.128, and Carlos Sainz with 1:46.364.

Next match

After the Belgian GP, ​​there is the customary three-week summer break, with the next race scheduled for August 23-25 ​​at the Zandvoort circuit and the Dutch GP.

Results

Driver Rating

Manufacturers Rating