George Russell is set to be disqualified from Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix in a shock turn of events after his sensational victory .
In an initial post-race check, Russell’s Mercedes car was found to be 1.5 kg under the weight permitted in the regulations following the obligatory drainage of fuel.
The matter has been referred to the FIA stewards, with a disqualification likely.
Russell’s disqualification would result in team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who finished second, claiming the win. Hamilton’s car was found to be over the permitted weight.
British driver Russell opted for a bold one-stop strategy to earn a famous third win in F1 - but it may have been this tactic which resulted in the car’s fall in weight, due to unexpected tyre wear.
A statement from FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer read: “After the race, car number 63 was weighed and its weight was 798.0 kg, which is the minimum weight required by TR Article 4.1
“After this, fuel was drained out of the car and 2.8 litres of fuel were removed. The car was not fully drained according to the draining procedure submitted by the team in their legality documents as TR Article 6.5.2 is fulfilled.
“The car was weighed again on the FIA inside and outside scales and the weight was 796.5 kg. The calibration of the outside and inside scales was confirmed and witnessed by the competitor.
“As this is 1.5 kg below the minimum weight requested in TR Article 4.1, which also has to be respected at all times during the competition, I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration.”
Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified from last year’s US Grand Prix in similar circumstances, after both were found to have breached the rules governing the floor of their cars.
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