Belgian Grand Prix: George Russell wins, Mercedes pulls off a double at Spa-Francorchamps

In Belgium, the poleman of the weekend is named Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque inherited this position following Max Verstappen’s penalty who has been given a 10-place grid penalty. After Monaco, it is the second time this season that Charles Leclerc starts on pole. Alongside him on the front row, we find Sergio Pérez. Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris make up the second row. At Alpine, we have Esteban Ocon in 9th place, while Pierre Gasly is 12th.

The departure

Charles Leclerc soars while the battle is tough between Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton who had a very good start. Things are more complicated for Lando Norris who finds himself in 7th place after putting his wheels in the gravel trap, preventing him from accelerating. DRS open, Lewis Hamilton gets rid of Charles Leclerc in the 3rd lap and takes the lead of this Grand Prix.

Guanyu Zhou broke down.

Guanyu Zhou is slowing down at the end of the 3rd lap. The driver’s single-seater seems to be suffering from a hydraulic problem. After a pit stop, the Chinese driver returns to the track. Several laps later, he is finally forced to retire.

The gaps are very tight. Lewis Hamilton, still in the lead, signals on the radio that something is moving around at his feet in the cockpit, a small piece may have come loose and could be bothering the Mercedes driver. This doesn’t prevent him from setting the fastest lap times. From the 9th lap, the pit stop ballet begins. While the majority of drivers started on medium tires, the strategies are varied. Max Verstappen, in 8th place, stops to try the undercut on Lando Norris. Hamilton, Pérez, and Piastri stop at the same time. Charles Leclerc doesn’t follow suit, a successful strategy for the Ferrari driver that prevents him from being undercut as the drivers who stopped before him lose time, stuck in traffic. Carlos Sainz, the provisional leader, and Kevin Magnussen are the last ones to make their first pit stop.

At the halfway point, the on-track action is rather calm. Lewis Hamilton has regained the lead, followed by Charles Leclerc. Sergio Pérez is already pitting for his second tire change, switching to hard tires. This gives up his third place to Oscar Piastri, with George Russell in fourth. Just behind, a battle is shaping up as Max Verstappen is defending his fifth place against Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc pits one lap before Lewis Hamilton, but misses the undercut as the Briton comes out ahead. At the end of the 28th lap, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen choose to make their second stop. Leading the race is Oscar Piastri, who is having a very strong second stint on his hard tires. Unfortunately, the young driver wastes precious seconds by making a botched pitstop of over four seconds and comes out in 4th place.

A winning strategy at Mercedes

George Russell, who has inherited the lead of the race, has been driving on his hard tires for 21 laps. The Mercedes driver is battling against the clock, with a daring one-stop strategy that seems to be paying off for now. In 6th place, Lando Norris is very comfortable with his new white tires and is closing in on Max Verstappen’s car ahead of him. Just a small second separates the two men but Norris is setting fastest laps and should soon be able, with the help of DRS, to overtake the reigning world champion.

In the final laps, we start to hope for a Mercedes double as Russell and Hamilton lead the race. The battle between Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri for the podium is won by the Australian, who overtakes the Ferrari in the 36th lap. Behind, Lando Norris is now less than a second away from Max Verstappen. While it is now difficult for the two men to aim for the podium, whoever finishes ahead of the other and scores the most points will gain an advantage in the driver’s championship, where they are neck and neck for the top spot. On the French side, Esteban Ocon is fighting against Daniel Ricciardo to get into the points. Pierre Gasly is 15th.

At the end of the suspense, Mercedes achieves the feat at Spa-Francorchamps by securing a one-two finish! George Russell crosses the finish line first thanks to a risky but rewarding strategy. Oscar Piastri, a serious rival for Mercedes until the final corners, completes the podium.

The ranking of the Belgian Grand Prix 2024