Belgium Race Recap: Mixed Feelings for Mercedes as Disaster Strikes in Spa, Handing Hamilton Another Win

One of the most iconic tracks on the Formula One calendar brought mixed reactions for Mercedes, who walked away from a failed one-two finish after Russell's disqualification handed Hamilton the win. Filling the remaining two spots on the podium was McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who were promoted to second and third following Russell's disastrous demise. As for Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver wound up in fourth - further evidence that his team's dominant days are slipping. With the summer beak now in full force, here's all the highlights and what we learned from the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. 

Hamilton inherits win from disqualified Russell 

When the chequered flag fell in Spa, the result couldn't have been better for Mercedes. After months of disappointment and frustration, the team watched as George Russell led his teammate Lewis Hamilton across the line in a spectacular one-two finish. A fairlytale end for the team's time out in Belgium but all was not as it seemed. 

Not long after the immediate post-race celebrations, the feeling on Russell's side of the garage turned to despair as it emerged his car was 1.5kg underweight, earning the British driver and devastating disqualification. Handing his hard-earned victory to teammate Hamilton, the seven-time world champion further extended his record win tally to 105. 

"Mixed feelings for today's result", said Hamilton on his social media channels after the race.

"Obviously happy to get the win but I feel for George and it's disappointing for the team not to get the 1-2.

"At the start of the weekend, we didn't expect to be at the front or the pace we had, so it's great to see just how much progress has been made and that we are in the fight. We take all these positives with us into the break and will come back a stronger team ready to keep the momentum going." 

SEE ALSO: IS FERRARI THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR HAMILTON?

For Russell, the mood wasn't quite as buoyant. His on-track 'victory' had been one of his best to date, as one of the only front runners brave (and skilled) enough to make his tyres last and go for the one-stop strategy. 

"It is heartbreaking to be disqualified from today's race," Russell said. "It had been an unbelievable Grand Prix for us to make the one-stop strategy work. In what turned out to be my final stint, the tyres just kept getting better and better.

"I was nursing them in the early stages and, as we went further, I became more and more convinced we could get to the end of them. It was a risk worth taking and it looked like it had paid off.

"Despite the disqualification, I am of course proud to have crossed the line first. It is also good that the team was still able to take the victory with Lewis.

"He drove a great race and was the fastest car out there on the two-stop strategy. Whilst I'm incredibly disappointed, I know we will bounce back stronger after the summer break, starting in Zandvoort." 

Commenting on social media about the 'mistake' that took away the one-two result, team boss Toto Wolff offered an apology to Russell. 

"We have to take our disqualification on the chin," said Wolff. "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 one-two is frustrating and we can only apologise to George who drove such a strong race." 

Piastri on the podium as McLaren make 'inroads' on Red Bull 

For Piastri and McLaren, the pace just keeps on coming as the season winds on. Despite starting fifth, the Australian managed to secure a podium in the race, which converted to P2 after Russell's disqualification, even admitting he thought he could challenge the Silver Arrows for the win. 

"Honestly yes, I thought I could [challenge them]," he said after the race. "Clean air was such a big difference today - once I got a little bit of clean air in the middle stint I picked up a lot of pace and managed to get a nice tyre delta for the last stop.

"But no, happy with the result. I think we managed the race very well.. I don't think we could have done too much more." 

In the teams' championship, McLaren has made good progress in the past few weeks, closing on leaders Red Bull. 

"It's been a really good couple of weeks for myself and the whole team of course - a lot of points," admitted Piastri. "We still made inroads on Red Bull today and that's a really positive thing going into the break." 

SEE ALSO: HOW OSCAR PIASTRI STORMED TO HIS FIRST GRAND PRIX VICTORY

'Work to do' says Verstappen as Red Bull dominance is 'behind' them

Despite being landed with a grid penalty before he'd even arrived in Belgium due to exceeding the permitted number of engine components, Verstappen conceded that Red Bull's days of dominance are "behind" them. 

Although the Dutchman was fastest in qualifying, Pole was handed to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Verstappen dropping to 11th. While there were days when the grid drop would have only been a minor setback for the reigning champion, Verstappen didn't manage to make it onto the podium, settling for fourth after Russell's disqualification gave everyone a one-place promotion. 

"I think from P11 we did a good job. I think looking at the championship it was a positive day for me, of course you want more but yeah with our pace the last few races, it's not realistic to think we can go P11 all the way to the front again. Those days are behind unfortunately. 

"But we have plenty of things to analyse over the break and see if we can improve the car starting already in Zandvoort." 

Regarding his championship hances, Verstappen still managed to finish one place ahead of his closest rival Lando Norris. With 277 points to his name, Verstappen still leads Norris with 199 but the gap is closing.

"Luckily it's changing a little bit," said the three-time World Champion, "so it's not one particular team that is taking points away but yeah, we know we have a bit of work to do, we want to do better and we'll see what we can do."