Mercedes’ euphoria of a 1-2 finish at 2024 Belgian Grand Prix was short lived as George Russell was stripped off his second win of the season by the FIA. His car didn’t pass the post-race quality checks and eventually, his teammate Lewis Hamilton inherited his place to claim his second victory of the season.
That being said, Mercedes were left devastated by the sudden turn of events. They not only let George Russell down but also were accused of purposely playing around the rules to gain lap time advantage. Meanwhile, Jolyon Palmer recently analyzed Russell’s situation and indirectly accused the Silver Arrows of blatant lying.
Jolyon Palmer Accuses Mercedes Of Coverup In George Russell’s Spa Defeat
Mercedes were left shaken after George Russell was disqualified following a P1 finish at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. Russell pulled off an incredible one-stop strategy to keep teammate Lewis Hamilton off on a 31-lap old hard tyres. However, during FIA’s mandatory post-race checks, Russell’s car was found to be 1.5 kg underweight than the minimum limit of 798 kg set by FIA. The violation resulted in a direct disqualification, and as a result, Hamilton was announced as the revised winner of Spa. That being said, the Silver Arrows were caught in a spot, and trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin pinned the blame on a one-stop strategy. He opined that due to the long stint, Russell lost excessive rubber off his hard compound, resulting in the car’s weight loss.
However, F1 analyst Jolyon Palmer suggested otherwise. In a detailed analysis video, Palmer noted that Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll pulled off a similar strategy to George Russell and still passed FIA’s checks. Additionally, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc also did 18 and 19 laps on hard compound compared to Russell’s 31 laps stint. However, the rubber lost in that 15-lap delta is not enough to make the car 1.5 kg underweight, noted Palmer. Hence, the pundit firmly believes Mercedes failed to show accountability. They miscalculated the weight of the car during adjustments made after Friday’s practice sessions. It’s also important to note that Mercedes scrapped the upgrades introduced in Hungary for the Belgian GP, as it didn’t suit the Spa circuit. Therefore, it is highly plausible that the team messed up George Russell’s car during the fateful hours of Friday.
Lewis Hamilton Questions Strategy Imposed On Him At Spa
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton once again accused Mercedes of allegedly sabotaging his strategy. While George Russell was allowed to do a one-stop race, Hamilton was called in for second stop despite his tyres being just fine. Lewis revealed after the race that Silver Arrows miscalculated as he could have easily pulled a one-stop strategy as well.
While Lewis Hamilton was gutted to lose P1 to George Russell by just a few tenths margin, his disappointment didn’t last long. Russell was disqualified after his car was found to be 1.5 kg underweight, and hence, he inherited his win as the P2 position holder. With that, the seven-time world champion earned his second race victory of the season after enduring a 945-day winless streak.
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