George Russell is maintaining a positive outlook despite the heartbreak of having his Belgian Grand Prix victory disqualified. The Mercedes driver pulled off a remarkable one-stop strategy at Spa-Francorchamps, leading a Mercedes one-two across the line, only for his car to be found 1.5kg underweight during post-race scrutineering.
The underweight issue, which resulted from excessive tire wear caused by his daring strategy, saw Russell’s hard-fought win stripped away. However, the Briton remains proud of what he considers one of the best races of his Formula 1 career, insisting that the disqualification doesn’t diminish the thrill of crossing the finish line first.
“It was such an amazing feeling, just being out there, seeing this opportunity come into life,” Russell reflected. “Spa is such a unique circuit with its long straights and few TV screens where I could monitor the gap to Lewis and Charles behind. I was calculating the closing rates and thought, ‘I think I’ll be able to keep this up.’ Crossing the line, celebrating with my team, standing on the podium—nobody can take that feeling away from me.”
While acknowledging that losing the 25 points would have been a much bigger blow if he were in a championship fight, Russell remains philosophical about the disqualification. He explained that multiple factors contributed to the car being underweight, including his own weight loss during the race, unexpected tire degradation, and excessive plank wear.
“We didn’t do a good enough job,” Russell admitted. “It was just a number of factors all coming together—my own weight loss, the tires wearing more than expected, and the plank wearing more than anticipated—that pushed us over the edge.”
Despite the setback, Russell is encouraging Mercedes to continue pushing the boundaries in their quest for race victories. He’s adopting a “no risk, no reward” mindset, emphasizing that taking risks is essential to discovering the team’s true potential.
“If you take margin in everything you do, you’d never be disqualified, but you’d also never know what the true potential is,” he said. “Of course, it’s frustrating that the one time in three years we’ve been just under the weight limit was the race we won, but there are zero hard feelings. We’re in this together, and it will make us stronger for the future.”
Russell’s attitude exemplifies his resilience and determination, as he continues to aim for more victories while encouraging his team to push beyond their limits.
Photo from George Russell Instagram
