Mercedes Formula 1 driver George Russell is in danger of losing his Belgian Grand Prix win after his car was found to be underweight during post-race inspections.
Russell drove a stunning one-stop race to overtake team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the finish line, turning sixth on the grid into a road win.
However, it quickly became apparent after the race that Russell’s W15 had failed the post-race scrutineering.
As the FIA technical delegate explained, Russell’s Mercedes initially weighed 798kg – exactly the maximum weight.
However, this is the weight limit for the car without fuel on board – and after extracting 2.8 litres of fuel from the car for the required post-race checks to check compliance, the W15 then weighed 796.5kg, well below the weight limit.
Accordingly, Russell’s car was declared in breach of Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations.
“The calibration of external and internal parameters was confirmed and witnessed by competitors,” the report said.
The results have been sent to stewards, and Russell now faces the near-certain prospect of being disqualified from the race.
This would hand the win to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, move Oscar Piastri up to second place, and put Charles Leclerc on the podium.
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