Race Summary

Start of the Race

Charles Leclerc started on pole due to Max Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty. Lewis Hamilton had an amazing start, quickly overtaking Sergio Perez for second place. Perez and Hamilton went side-by-side into Eau Rouge, but Hamilton stayed ahead. Meanwhile, Lando Norris lost three places after going off at Turn 1, and Verstappen started making his way up the field.

Stint 1

Most cars began the race on medium tires, but Carlos Sainz opted for hards within the top 10. On Lap 2, Hamilton began pressuring Leclerc within DRS range. Verstappen closed in on Norris after a failed move on Sainz. By Lap 3, Hamilton used DRS to take the lead from Leclerc and quickly pulled away.

Pit stops started on Lap 11, with Russell and Verstappen switching to hard compounds. Max had a slow stop compared to Mercedes.

Stint 2

Russell aimed to undercut Piastri, while Verstappen targeted Norris. Hamilton, Perez, and Piastri pitted for hard tires on Lap 12. Russell successfully undercut Piastri but lost the position back immediately with DRS. Uncharacteristically the Red Bull had a pretty slow pitstop in comparison to Mercedes.

On lap 12 the front runners followed suit with their pitstop, with Hamilton, Perez and Piastri all pitting for the hard compound tire. Russell successfully pulled off the undercut on Oscar Piastri who had an excellent pitstop however it wasn’t enough. Immediately after, Piastri with DRS retakes his position off Russell in pursuit of Perez.

Leclerc comes into the pits on lap 13 switching for the hard compound however it wasn’t the best pitstop for the Ferrari. Sainz was then in the lead on the hard tire which he started on.

As LeClerc entered the pits, three cars went go into bus stop (Final corner) Stroll, Perez and Piastri. This allowed Russell to catch up to the back of Piastri. Perez was left a sitting duck as he loses any DRS advantage with Russell and Piastri aggressively pushing behind. The McLaren takes the Red Bull with ease.

Norris finally boxes on lap 15 losing a lot of time on those medium tires in the later life.

Sainz pitted on Lap 21, showing the hard tires could last around 20 laps. Hamilton retook the lead, with Russell closing in on Perez and Verstappen behind. Redbull sandwich is not where he wanted to be.

Russell overtook Perez with ease. This took the pressure of Verstappen off who was close behind. This initiated Perez to pit for hards on Lap 22.

Stint 3

On lap 26 LeClerc pits in an attempt to undercut Hamilton with another set of hard compound. On the next lap Hamilton reacts to LeClerc coming in for his next set of hard compounds meanwhile Russell is on radio suggesting the one stop strategy.

Sainz comes in on lap 29 after using his medium tyres also Verstappen is in the pits beginning his next stint. Lando Norris comes back in for a set of hard.

By Lap 36, it was clear Russell was aiming for a one-stop strategy. With six laps to go, Hamilton was 4.3 seconds behind. Piastri was close to Leclerc, taking third position. Verstappen was seeing Norris in DRS range, while Perez dropped to eighth after being overtaken by Sainz. This is not good for the Mexican drivers future at Red Bull especially starting in 2nd.

Hamilton on Lap 40, with Hamilton within DRS range on Lap 41. Their battle allowed Piastri to close up. Hamilton made one final attempt with DRS out of Eau Rouge but couldn't get past Russell

Hamilton had one final go out of rouge with DRS however he didn’t have the speed to get past Russell. This also allowed Piastri to close up significantly.

With less than 1.2 seconds between 1st and 3rd, George Russell manages to pull off an absolute wonder one stop race, clutching that first position right until the final flag.

But there is a big but…

Summary

George Russell pulled off a remarkable one-stop race strategy, maintaining first place until the final flag. However, his car was found to be underweight, resulting in disqualification. Hamilton was promoted to first, Piastri to second, and Leclerc to third. It was a heartbreaking end for Russell, whose brilliant strategy and race execution were undone by a mere 1.5 kg underweight issue. There is speculation that the high tyre degradation and the fact there is no in lap to collect rubber is one of the possible reasons for the weight issue.

Watch Highlights Here

Standings

Mercedes taking from McLaren does Redbull and Verstappen many favours especially with their second driver not performing to the standard he should be. Standings are now below. We are into the summer break and Mercedes have the momentum, however there are many changes and developments that can happen over the summer break.

News

1 - Sainz Finally Announces He Will Be Signing For Williams

2 - Mercedes Initial Finding Of Why Car Is Underweight

3 - Red Bull make decision on Perez's future and RB driver line-up

4 - Alpine announce Oliver Oakes as new Team Principal following departure of Bruno Famin

Summer Break Plans

Over the summer break I will be posting summaries of the most interesting F1 news. Obviously there will be no races to comment on so it will be a short read for the next few weeks. The next race preview will be for the Netherlands!

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