George Russell was denied his third Formula 1 victory by an underweight car that resulted in his post-race disqualification from the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver became the sixth driver in F1 history to lose a race win through disqualification. He had claimed a sensational victory on the road from sixth on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps by opting for a risky one-stop strategy, while others pitted twice.
Russell crossed the line just 0.526s ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with third-place Oscar Piastri 1.173s behind, yet it all changed approximately 70 minutes after the chequered flag.
The #63 Mercedes was 1.5kg below the designated 798kg minimum weight, as per Article 4.1 of F1’s technical regulations, after it was drained of its fuel post-race.
Russell called it “heartbreaking”, with Hamilton instead claiming his 105th grand prix victory. But who else has had their win taken away because of disqualification in F1?
James Hunt – disqualified from the 1976 British Grand Prix for failing to complete a full lap after a red flag
Official winner of the 1976 British Grand Prix: Niki Lauda, Ferrari
James Hunt celebrates victory on the podium. He would later be disqualified from the results.
Photo by: Motorsport Images
James Hunt’s first disqualification of the 1976 F1 season came in round four at Jarama, when he won by 30.97s. He initially lost that win because his McLaren was 1.5cm too wide and Niki Lauda was declared the winner, but McLaren appealed the decision and two months later Hunt’s victory was reinstated because the difference was minimal.
Hunt received another disqualification approximately two weeks later though, and this time it was for good. His victory at Brands Hatch given to Lauda after a huge first-corner crash where Hunt, and several others, collided with a spinning Clay Regazzoni who had attempted to overtake Lauda for the lead on lap one.
The race was subsequently suspended, so Hunt drove his damaged car back to the pits. But he was soon disqualified as he used the escape road on Cooper Straight, meaning he was not on the circuit when the red flag was waved and stewards said that drivers must have completed the lap in full.
But that decision was reversed amid fears of crowd trouble and Hunt won his restarted home race. That prompted Ferrari, Tyrrell and the Fittipaldi team to all protest his inclusion.
Two months later, Hunt was disqualified from the British GP, handing…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…