Russell pips Hamilton in Mercedes 1-2

Russell executed a brilliant one-stop strategy that outperformed his competitors’ two-stop efforts, finishing ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Results

2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Report

Polesitter Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) surged ahead into La Source, followed closely by a fast-starting Hamilton and Sergio Perez (Red Bull). Russell fought hard with Piastri for fourth position at Les Combes but had to take a detour on the second element. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Lando Norris struggled at La Source, losing speed on exit and falling back to seventh place.

Verstappen, aiming for a fourth consecutive win at this circuit, began his race from 11th due to a 10-place grid penalty imposed for an engine change. He passed Alex Albon’s Williams at the final chicane, securing ninth place by the end of the opening lap.

Norris managed to overtake Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz—who opted for hard tires while most contenders chose mediums— at Les Combes, clinching sixth on the second lap. However, he quickly had to yield the position back after overshooting the first element, thus putting Verstappen right on his tail.

Hamilton stayed within DRS range of Leclerc and surged ahead to take the lead at Les Combes on lap three.

Perez dropped out of DRS alongside Leclerc, which opened the door for Piastri to challenge him for third. However, drivers remained cautious due to higher-than-expected track temperatures, focusing on tire management early in the race. Russell, in fifth, went wide at the Bruxelles hairpin on lap eight, barely managing to fend off Sainz.

By lap nine, Hamilton had built a 2-second gap over Leclerc, reporting that his tires were “OK” but experiencing some rear grip issues.

Russell and Verstappen were the first frontrunners to pit on lap 10, as most competitors switched to hard tires for the middle stage of the race. Verstappen encountered substantial traffic from Yuki Tsunoda’s RB on his out-lap and had to work hard to get around.

Hamilton, Perez, and Piastri followed suit in the next round of pit stops, with Hamilton just managing to re-enter the track before Piastri slid into his pitbox right next to him. Russell’s strategy paid off when he managed to undercut Piastri, only for the Australian to reclaim the position with DRS into Les Combes. Perez found himself stuck behind Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, allowing Piastri to close in once more.

Leclerc pitted from the lead—giving Ferrari a temporary 1-2—on lap 12, rejoining ahead of the battling Perez (who had switched to mediums instead of hards) and Piastri, with the latter successfully passing the Mexican at Les Combes.

Sainz held the lead on hard tires while Norris attempted an overcut strategy to recover the lost track position from his early missteps, pushing him to 100% pace.

Norris pitted on lap 15, returning to the track in eighth but losing a position to Verstappen, as well as about 5 seconds. Once back out, he quickly demonstrated his pace, setting a series of fastest laps.

Leading Sainz eventually ran wide through the gravel at Stavelot, losing important time on his alternative strategy.

With the pitwall giving Verstappen the green light to attack Russell—who was clinging to Perez’s DRS range—the Dutchman couldn’t mount a challenge and reverted to a conservation tactic, with Norris catching up strongly behind him.

Sainz moved to pit for the mediums on lap 20, rejoining in eighth. Hamilton inherited a 1.7-second lead from Leclerc and Piastri. Shortly after, Russell overtook Perez, claiming fourth place.

Verstappen spent part of a lap stuck behind Perez, who was subsequently pulled into the pits, allowing Norris to close up to within a second of his rival at half distance. However, just as he got into the DRS range, Norris made a mistake at the final chicane on lap 24 and dropped out.

When Leclerc made his second stop on lap 25 for an aggressive undercut attempt—somewhat hindered by a slow left-rear tire change—he found himself 2 seconds behind Hamilton. Hamilton responded promptly, pitting the next lap and rejoining 2.5 seconds ahead of Leclerc; meanwhile, Russell—now in second—considered the option of extending his run on the hards through to the end.

Verstappen made another pit stop on lap 28, joined by Sainz—who only managed eight laps on his mediums before reverting back for fresh hards. Norris followed suit a lap later.

In clear air, Piastri set the fastest lap just before making his second stop on lap 30, although a 4.4-second delay occurred as he locked up and overshot his pit box.

Perez allowed Verstappen to pass with 14 laps remaining, and Norris followed suit by DRS-passing Perez a lap later.

With twelve laps to go, Russell—a firm believer in the one-stop strategy—held a 7-second advantage over Hamilton, who was 2 seconds ahead of Leclerc and Piastri. Verstappen’s fifth position stood threatened by Norris, clearly given the green light to attack, while Perez and Sainz rounded out the top eight.

Piastri set his sights on Leclerc, engaging in battle at Les Combes on lap 35; although his first attempt was unsuccessful, he managed to pass around the outside on his second try.

Russell maintained a 3.7-second lead over Hamilton at this point, while Piastri aimed to close the 5-second gap to the Mercedes pair. Sainz then executed a pass on Perez for seventh with six laps to go.

As the race progressed, Hamilton began catching Russell with just four laps to go, while Piastri closed in on the two Mercedes but remained four seconds back. Behind them, Verstappen entered DRS range of Leclerc with Norris still tailing him.

Hamilton made several DRS attempts on Russell along the Kemmel Straight but lacked the overtaking speed necessary to carve through.

Starting the last lap, the Mercedes duo were just 0.6 seconds apart with Piastri trailing by a second. Hamilton marginally locked up at La Source, which halted his momentum for a potential DRS pass. Moments later, he made another mistake at Bruxelles, allowing Russell the breathing space he needed to secure a memorable victory after running on his tires for 34 laps.

Russell clinched the win by half a second ahead of Hamilton, with Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris, Sainz, and Perez following.

2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

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