Disqualification at Spa: The Russell drama unfolds
As well as the thrilling battles on the track, the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix was also marked by the unexpected and controversial disqualification of George Russell. After initially taking the chequered flag, Russell was stripped of his victory when post-race inspections revealed that his car was 1.5 kilograms underweight. This rule violation, which led to Russell’s disqualification, remains a perplexing issue for Mercedes.
A few days after the race, Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Head of Operations, provided new insight into the incident.
“At the moment we are trying to understand exactly what happened. The first thing we need to do is determine the weights of the various components,” explained Shovlin, highlighting the ongoing investigation into the causes of the weight discrepancy.
Mercedes’ multi-factor investigation
Mercedes are still unsure as to why Russell’s car failed to meet the minimum weight requirement of 798 kilograms. Shovlin noted that it was unlikely that any single factor was responsible for the discrepancy. Instead, the team believes that a combination of variables contributed to the problem.
“The car can lose quite a bit of weight during the race,” said Shovlin, pointing out several factors that can affect the car’s weight, including tyre wear, floorboard wear, brake wear and oil consumption. The weight of the driver is also an important factor and in this particular race George Russell lost a lot of weight.
