Russell won after holding off Hamilton in a thrilling finale in Belgium and another Norris disaster

There are many candidates for victory and one clear favourite, Lando Norris, because of the speed of his car and because Max Verstappen started 11th after serving an engine change penalty. The battle is full of challengers, but only one can win, and he does it in a completely unexpected and heroic way. George Russell in a very tight finale that is a clear example of what F1 has become, in an exciting battle between many candidates.

F1 2024 BELGIUM GP RESULTS

You only have to look at the general classification and see the small differences where the first three crossed the finish line: George Russell emerged victorious after a tense final battle against his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who crossed the finish line just half a second behind George in a new one-two for Mercedes Piastri, third, moved to 1.1 in behind the winner. Unbelievable.

Mercedes gave a master class in how to get things done. You can win a race without having the fastest car, with a well-armed car in the front group. You can even sign a double if you do everything perfectly and your rivals fail. And they did it, yes, adding spice to a finale where that double could be jeopardized by the battle between George and Hamilton and the presence of Piastri.

After an intense and very different strategic battle, in which Lando Norris eliminated himself after another bad start and Max was out of that fight for starting 11th due to an engine change, with 10 laps remaining, Mercedes took the lead with an unexpected double. George Russell, covered throughout the race, found himself in first place after signing a brilliant strategy of just one stop. He went for it to take risks, something Hamilton couldn’t do as he was leading and victory seemed to be in his hands for most of the race. But after that strategy, Hamilton finished second with the best pace, 5 seconds behind his teammate, pushing as hard as possible.

For their part, Piastri and Leclerc are fighting for the last place on the podium and Norris and Verstappen are on track. Emotions are maximum. But everything tightened up in the final turn.

With 6 laps to go, Mercedes’ one-two looks certain and Hamilton is flying. He placed his silver spot on his partner’s rearview mirror. Lewis chose to go two stops to have a better finish and have better weapons by riding a tire 16 years younger than Russell. It was clear that Lewis was coming and it seemed clear that he was going to catch up. And with Piastri in third place 5 seconds behind after a spectacular overtake in which he snatched the podium from Charles, he didn’t seem to be risking that silver double.

But the ending is surprising. George Russell tried to defend himself with worse ‘shoes’. He heroically made himself wide in front of his teammate Hamilton, raising the nerves in the Mercedes pit as it gave wings to Piastri who again found himself with options after a good overtake on Leclerc.

With Mercedes there was freedom to fight. Lewis couldn’t handle a good Russell and Piastri was 1.2 with a lap and a half remaining, with Hamilton close behind George. The 7-time champion had just one chance left after crossing the finish line second at the start of the final lap. Hamilton had to attack leaving Eau Rouge, stuck in DRS. And Piastri also appeared in the DRS distance to try to fish the turbulent rivers. But the surprise happened.

Hamilton couldn’t do it. Russell, against all odds, won the victory in spectacular fashion, leading the Mercedes double after stopping the 7-time champion. It was Russell’s second win of the year after Canada 2024, his third in F1 and the third on the course for Mercedes. This F1 is beautiful! And the Spa race is the manifestation of this.

Among the top 5 there are 4 teams. The two Mercedes of Russell and Hamilton, the McLaren of Piastri (3rd), the Ferrari of Leclerc (4th) and the Red Bull of Verstappen (5th) ahead of Norris (6th) and Sainz ( -7). Brutal.

Another disaster for Norris

George Russell won the race starting in 6th place. Meanwhile, Hamilton was close to victory, starting from third place, with Norris, who started from 4th place. Lando’s lesson was huge.

Just a week ago, Hamilton and Norris were at the pre-podium ceremony. Lewis emphasized the McLarens tremendous speed, but Lando, angry at having to give up the victory to Piastri, was surprised by Lewis’ rude response. He reminds her that he already had the best car years ago and now it’s “our time.” Hamilton understood nothing and preferred not to respond. Many fans don’t understand why Norris didn’t show more respect to such a legend. “I was just paying you a compliment,” Lewis said correctly. And a week later, the two Mercedes were in charge of responding to him and made it clear that he still had a lot to learn.

Lando, starting 4th, had a faster car on the straight that chose to carry less aerodynamic load than his rivals. It is the perfect weapon to avoid having trouble at the start and attack the straights with DRS, with more advantage and better racing speed, to head for victory. But he failed to fulfill the first premise: he got into trouble from the start. It went wrong, very wrong, again. And he rode into the gravel at Turn 1.

That excursion took him out of the equation and left him in 7th place. The day he had to take the opportunity to deduct points from a Max who started 11th due to an engine change, he found that after only 2 laps Verstappen, the World leader, was behind him Championship, in 8th place.

Meanwhile, Hamilton did the opposite and took two laps to take the lead. He has to try to squeeze his rhythm and technique out of Norris. George and Hamilton did it, not him. And so, in a race that seemed written to shave points off Max, Norris once again lost some valuable points in the fight for the crown. Verstappen managed to stay in the lead, in 5th place, despite starting 11th. Norris was left in 6th place which did him no good on a day when he was everyone’s favorite.

Sainz, 7th

Carlos Sainz finished 7th. The Spaniard’s race was conditioned by his 7th starting position and the lower speed of his Ferrari compared to McLaren and Mercedes. He will not be able to join the fight. He tried everything, leading the race by prolonging his stop due to starting on hard tires. He tried to go to a stop and in that context, any ‘Safety Car’ could have given him glory, but luck was not on his side and he finally had to stop again. He finished 7th after passing ‘Checo’ Pérez (8th) at the end.

Alonso, the first of mortals

After the 4 big teams, the first of the ‘mortals’ was Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, who started 8th, only lost ground to Verstappen, who with a better car soon overtook him. The man from Oviedo completed a good strategy in the battle with Esteban Ocon who overtook him on the track due to the Alpine’s enormous top speed on the straight. But the Asturian managed to recover 9th place to score some good points against Ocon (10th).