(Photo: Formula 1)
George Russell took a stunning victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after a bold strategy call and a thrilling chase from Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in the latter stages of the race.
Charles Leclerc had made a good start from pole position to initially lead, before being overtaken by Hamilton within two laps. From there the seven-time world champion looked strong at a track where he has been victorious on four prior occasions.
While most of the field opted for a two-stop race, Russell took a gamble by making just one visit to the pits on Lap 10 of 44, meaning that he was attempting to nurse his aging hard tyres as the Grand Prix entered its final stages.
Hamilton had closed right onto the back of his team mate in the last laps and, despite getting agonisingly close, the Briton was unable to find a way past Russell, who crossed the line just half a second ahead to take the third F1 victory of his career.
FORMULA 1 ROLEX BELGIAN GRAND PRIX 2024 – Race results
|
POS |
NO |
DRIVER |
CAR |
LAPS |
TIME/RETIRED |
PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
63 |
George Russell |
Mercedes |
44 |
1:19:57.040 |
25 |
|
2 |
44 |
Lewis Hamilton |
Mercedes |
44 |
+0.526s |
18 |
|
3 |
81 |
Oscar Piastri |
McLaren Mercedes |
44 |
+1.173s |
15 |
|
4 |
16 |
Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari |
44 |
+8.549s |
12 |
|
5 |
1 |
Max Verstappen |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
44 |
+9.226s |
10 |
|
6 |
4 |
Lando Norris |
McLaren Mercedes |
44 |
+9.850s |
8 |
|
7 |
55 |
Carlos Sainz |
Ferrari |
44 |
+19.795s |
6 |
|
8 |
11 |
Sergio Perez |
Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT |
44 |
+43.195s |
5 |
|
9 |
14 |
Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
44 |
+49.963s |
2 |
|
10 |
31 |
Esteban Ocon |
Alpine Renault |
44 |
+52.552s |
1 |
|
11 |
3 |
Daniel Ricciardo |
RB Honda RBPT |
44 |
+54.926s |
0 |
|
12 |
18 |
Lance Stroll |
Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes |
44 |
+63.011s |
0 |
|
13 |
23 |
Alexander Albon |
Williams Mercedes |
44 |
+63.651s |
0 |
|
14 |
10 |
Pierre Gasly |
Alpine Renault |
44 |
+64.365s |
0 |
|
15 |
20 |
Kevin Magnussen |
Haas Ferrari |
44 |
+66.631s |
0 |
|
16 |
77 |
Valtteri Bottas |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
44 |
+70.638s |
0 |
|
17 |
22 |
Yuki Tsunoda |
RB Honda RBPT |
44 |
+76.737s |
0 |
|
18 |
2 |
Logan Sargeant |
Williams Mercedes |
44 |
+86.057s |
0 |
|
19 |
27 |
Nico Hulkenberg |
Haas Ferrari |
44 |
+88.833s |
0 |
|
NC |
24 |
Zhou Guanyu |
Kick Sauber Ferrari |
5 |
DNF |
0 |
Behind the Mercedes one-two, Oscar Piastri worked his way forwards to claim third for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc was fourth in the Ferrari and Max Verstappen bounced back from his P11 start to put his Red Bull into fifth place.
Despite getting close to Verstappen, Lando Norris had to settle for sixth on what looked to be a tough day at times for the McLaren man, and his former team mate Carlos Sainz claimed seventh behind for Ferrari.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ended the day down in P8, having been overtaken by Sainz in the latter stages amid continuing pressure around the Mexican’s place in the team.
Fernando Alonso took a couple of valuable points for Aston Martin in ninth, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon rounded out the top-10.
Daniel Ricciardo just missed out on points in P11 for RB, with Lance Stroll following in the Aston Martin in P12 and Alex Albon taking P13 for Williams.
Pierre Gasly was 14th for Alpine on a weekend where Bruno Famin’s departure as Team Principal was announced, while Kevin Magnussen in the Haas crossed the line in 15th.
There were again no points for Kick Sauber, with Valtteri Bottas ending the race in P16, ahead of RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in P17, the Williams of Logan Sargeant in P18 and Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg bringing up the rear in P19.
Zhou Guanyu was the only retirement of the day, having suffered a hydraulic issue with his Kick Sauber.
Formula 1 Media | Photo: Formula 1
