Imagine the nightmare of every racer: being disqualified after a victory. This was the unfortunate fate of George Russell at the Belgian Grand Prix. After a thrilling race, the British driver crossed the finish line first, only to have his victory stripped away when his car was found to be underweight. Mercedes has since provided an initial explanation for Russell’s disqualification.
Trackside engineer Andrew Shovlin explained in a debriefing video where things likely went wrong for George Russell. His disqualification cost the team a significant number of points, if not for Lewis Hamilton inheriting the win. “It was obviously very unfortunate,” said a disappointed Shovlin. “He had such a strong race, especially as he seemed to be winning from so far behind.” Russell started the race at Spa from P6.
Understanding the Incident
“We are now trying to understand exactly what happened,” he continued. “A crucial part of this is weighing all the different components. A car can lose quite a bit of weight during a race. There’s tire wear, plank wear, brake wear, oil consumption. The driver himself can also lose a lot of weight, and in this particular race, Russell certainly lost some weight.”
Weight Differences in the Race
“The cars started the race at the same weight,” Shovlin assured. “Both vehicles were within 500 grams of each other. Russell’s car was the only one that had a problem afterwards – this was mainly due to higher tire wear. Furthermore, his plank also lost a lot more material. We will need to gather all this data and see how we can refine our processes. It is clear that this should never happen again.” Russell’s disqualification was not unique; in the long history of Formula 1, five other drivers have had to surrender a victory afterwards.
Did the Weight Loss Benefit Russell?
Finally, Shovlin wants to emphasize that Russell probably did not benefit from the lack of kilos. “At the start of the race, he had no advantage at all, both cars started at the same weight,” he explained. “Later, Russell’s car started losing weight faster, so there is an advantage. But we’re talking about hundredths of a second per lap, so it’s really marginal.”