Lewis Hamilton leaves ex-F1 racer’s jaw on the floor with what he did at Belgian GP

George Russell beat Lewis Hamilton on track at the Belgian Grand Prix but the seven-time F1 champion inherited the victory after his Mercedes team-mate was disqualified

George Russell may have finished ahead of his team-mate on track, but it was Lewis Hamilton who left former driver Jolyon Palmer blown away with his race at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton had been able to get past his team-mate despite being on fresher tyres in the final few laps of the Spa-Francorchamps race. Russell still had enough life left in his rubber to take the chequered flag after what had appeared to be an inspired strategy call to only pit once.

However, after collecting the trophy and celebrating with colleagues, the 26-year-old was soon brought crashing back down to earth. Russell was disqualified after his car failed FIA checks which found it was 1.5kg under the minimum required weight.

Mercedes team-mate Hamilton inherited a second victory of the season after his Silverstone success. But even if he hasn’t been awarded that win, and in spite of the plaudits Russell received for that in-race strategy call, the seven-time champion left ex-F1 racer Palmer in awe of his efforts in the Ardennes.

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In his column for the official F1 website, the former Renault driver wrote: “Lewis Hamilton is back on top form and delivered a consummate drive in the other car to save face for Mercedes and ensure that, while Russell was disqualified, the team still walked away with victory.

“Had Russell not gone bold and brilliant with his strategy, the talk would very much be about Hamilton executing his own perfect drive, in very different fashion… From third on the grid, Hamilton’s start was the best in the field. His reaction time from the lights going out to the car launch was less than 0.25 seconds, the only driver to do so.

“He carried that speed into the acceleration phase of the start as well leaping up the inside of Sergio Perez in the early metres, a critical pass as the race turned out. Had Hamilton not jumped Perez at the start, he wouldn’t have had such a clear chance of passing [Charles] Leclerc either.

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“DRS trains dominated the race further back, making it extremely difficult for the likes of [Max] Verstappen and [Lando] Norris to make progress… With DRS trains and slipstreams also acting as a great form of defence, it proved surprisingly difficult to make moves on Sunday.

“Hamilton found that out at the end of the race, even against the worn tyres of his teammate with no DRS or slipstream, so had he not got into second immediately and applied pressure to the lead Ferrari before Leclerc could get into a rhythm, his race could have been very different.

“Hamilton’s weekend was perfectly executed. From qualifying well, navigating himself to the race lead with a couple of key moments and then managing the gap and the strategy to those behind, it looked for all the world like a trademark Hamilton win – until Russell’s strategy appeared.”