2024 Belgian Grand Prix | 6 talking points

Russell’s weighty heartbreak

The one-stop strategy was his own and turned out to be inspired. No one really expected him to win using such a ploy, from sixth on the grid. Yet there he was, holding off his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, on tyres 15 laps older over the final laps, on a day when DRS-assisted overtaking was harder than we’ve come to expect along Kemmel straight after Eau Rouge.

But then the nasty sting. Two and a half hours after the chequered flag, it was announced Russell’s car had been found to be 1.5kg underweight. There’s no grey areas on such matters: a car is either on or over the limit and legal – or it’s not. Mercedes called it “a genuine error” and apologised to poor Russell, whose third GP victory became Hamilton’s 105^th. On the plus side – and we hope he can take some consolation from this despite what must be his current desperate state of disappointment – Russell reminded us just what he has in him. This was a brilliant drive and victory, even if now it doesn’t count. Happy holidays, George.

Hamilton still “deserved” his win

In his statement after the race, Toto Wolff was full of apologies to Russell, but also made the point to say Hamilton “deserved” his win. And he did. It’s just that Russell deserved it more.

Hamilton, too, drove a great race, relieving pole position starter Charles Leclerc of the lead and looking good for victory on the conventional two-stopper. He’ll take little pleasure from inheriting a win in such circumstances, but will head into the summer break buoyed by Mercedes’ incredible turnaround. Three wins in four races for the team that looked all at sea not so long ago. Again, a record we didn’t expect to be reporting just a couple of short months ago.

But will Hamilton also be regretting that Ferrari deal for 2025? Surely not. The seven-time world champion is too committed to his impending move to allow an upturn in form, however dramatic, to deflect his desire for the biggest change in his sporting life.

More errors from McLaren drivers

Lando Norris admitted he was maybe trying a little too hard when he overreached on the opening lap and dropped to seventh. Oscar Piastri gave his front jack man a heavy whack in a less than perfect final pitstop. For the Aussie, it’s too much to say it was the difference between a win and what eventually became second place after Russell’s DSQ. Overtaking Hamilton on this day would have been tough, even with an ideal final stop that didn’t cost him valuable seconds. But the fact remains, for all of their progress through these past months, both Norris and Piastri remain works in progress. They have lots to be excited about for the rest of the season – but plenty to work on, too.

Verstappen fighting a rear-guard

The fact remains that Max Verstappen has a 78-point lead over Lando Norris with 10 races to run in 2024. Red Bull is feeling the heat now that McLaren and Mercedes have started to cook – but it would still take something shocking for the Dutchman to lose his fourth consecutive world championship. Don’t forget too, that Verstappen did qualify on pole at Spa, and only started down the order because of a penalty for the replacement of too many engine components. This was a decent comeback, even if it was less spectacular than those we’ve seen from him in the past in such circumstances.

Then again, he’s clearly rattled and has plenty to reflect on himself during the August break. When the season resumes at his home grand prix at Zandvoort on August 25, Verstappen will need to show his leadership to pull himself and his team over the line this season. As Hamilton put it with a glint in his eye ahead of the Spa race, he must act like a world champion. Strange to say given the size of his lead, but these are uncomfortable times for the 26-year-old.

Is Pérez out of time?

Second on the grid to a sorry seventh (eighth without Russell’s fate), after losing a place late in the race to Carlos Sainz Jr. Helmut Marko described Sergio Pérez as having “completely collapsed” during the grand prix at Spa. Today, Monday, it’s said the team will hold a meeting on the Mexican’s future. Two months after he signed a contract extension that was supposed to keep him in place at the world champion squad into 2025, it’s looking more likely that he’s just driven his last race for Red Bull.

A change looks vital, given the circumstances in the constructors’ championship. McLaren is now just 42 points behind with those 10 races to play and can sniff the opportunity for its first teams’ world title since 1998. The drivers’ title for Norris is a long shot, but in this case the chase is genuinely on – and Pérez isn’t scoring the points Red Bull needs to keep its nose ahead. From the past eight races, his results read: eighth, retired, retired, eighth, seventh, 17^th, seventh, seventh. Simply not good enough – especially for a man as impatient and intolerant of mediocrity as Marko.

Ricciardo gets lucky

Behind Pérez, Fernando Alonso also used a one-stop strategy to grab some points for Aston Martin, ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon. The Russell disqualification then played into Daniel Ricciardo’s hands as he inherited a point he hadn’t earned, for tenth. Might he now claim a drive he hasn’t earned, too? The Aussie and Liam Lawson, who acquitted himself well as a sub for the injured Ricciardo in the second Red Bull last season, are under evaluation for Pérez’s seat. Then again, will Ricciardo gain a promotion to the A-team beside Verstappen – or will he be dropped from his current drive in favour of Lawson? All scenarios seem possible! What a strange web of complexity that’s about to unravel one way or another in the days to come.

But what about Yuki Tsunonda? Where does he fit in? As he’s said himself, the Japanese driver has been the in-form RB driver across the season. And yet there’s something about him that doesn’t seem to convince the Red Bull hierarchy about putting him up beside Verstappen to score those vital constructors’ points. If he’s passed over for either Lawson or Ricciardo, Tsunoda might well have the unhappiest holiday of anyone on the grid this summer. Roll on Zandvoort.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.