George Russell’s unexpected victory at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix has been revoked due to a stringent regulation regarding the weight of Formula 1 cars when fuel has been drained.
Russell’s impressive one-stop strategy allowed him to maintain his lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton late in the race at Spa, with Hamilton’s car having led the majority of the event until the final laps.
Watch: Weight A Minute – The F1 Belgian Grand Prix News From the Paddock
Ultimately, Russell was set to claim his third career GP win in F1, but just an hour and ten minutes after the race ended, FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer’s report cast doubt on the result.
The regulation that nullified Russell’s victory and awarded Hamilton his second win of the season refers to Article 4.1 of F1’s technical regulations, which pertains to the “minimum mass” of each car.
This rule stipulates: “The mass of the car, without fuel, must not be less than 798kg, at all times during the competition.”
“If the car is not equipped with dry-weather tires when required for checking, its mass will be determined using a set of dry-weather tires selected by the FIA technical delegate.”
In this case, only the first clause applies, as ‘competition’ includes any point during a race weekend. However, weighing cars and finding them to be underweight only becomes relevant post-qualifying and race, since they could theoretically run in illegal configurations during practice sessions.
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, 1st position, arrives in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
After the race at Spa, Russell’s car was weighed and confirmed to be exactly at the 798kg limit. However, it needed to be drained of fuel according to the requirements of Article 6.5.2.
This article specifies: “Competitors must ensure that a 1.0-litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the competition.”
“After a practice session, sprint session, and race, if a car has not been driven back to the pits under its own power, it will be required to supply the above-mentioned sample plus enough fuel to account for what would have been consumed to return to the pits.”
“The additional fuel amount will be determined by the FIA.”
In this case, only the first segment of the rule is applicable.
According to Bauer’s report, and with Mercedes being referred to the Spa stewards as a result, when Russell’s car was drained of 2.8 litres to provide the required 1.0-litre sample, some fuel remained in the tank, which appeared to contravene regulations.
The report’s wording did not clarify if the statement, “the car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled,” implied that fuel was left in the car upon subsequent weighing.
Regardless, the car was noted to weigh 796.5 kg in two subsequent checks using the FIA’s equipment, which placed it below the 798 kg limit mandated by Article 4.1 by 1.5 kg.
About 40 minutes after Mercedes had appeared before the stewards, the announcement to disqualify Russell was made.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team, 1st position, in the the post race press conference
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
The document from the Spa stewards noted: “Car 63 was weighed on both the FIA’s internal and external scales, with both showing a consistent result of 796.5kg.
“The calibration of both scales was confirmed and observed by the competitor.
“During the inquiry, the team representative acknowledged that the measurement was accurate and that all required procedures were followed correctly.
“The team also admitted that there were no mitigating factors, and it was a genuine oversight on their part.
“The Stewards conclude that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been violated, necessitating standard penalties for such an offense.”
Thus, similar to Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in the 2021 Hungarian GP, where the relevant rule was Article 6.6.2 and his car was unable to provide the required 1.0-litre fuel sample, Russell has been removed from the final classification at Spa.
Mercedes has the option to appeal the ruling, like Aston Martin attempted three years prior, but considering the team’s admission of an error during the hearing, such an action seems unlikely.
