F1 News: Toto Wolff Reacts To George Russell Disqualification –
Reveals Reason Behind WeightThe Belgian Grand Prix has ended with a twist as George Russell’s much-celebrated win was annulled following a post-race disqualification due to his Mercedes 15 being underweight.
The sudden change in race strategy, a shift to a one-stop strategy suggested by Russell himself, is now seen as the pivotal factor behind this penalty.
Toto Wolff has now commented on the confirmed disqualification.
Initially, Russell was not set to pursue a one-stop strategy, but during the race, he proposed the change over the team radio.
“Despite the nullification of Russell’s win, the disqualification had a silver lining for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton was promoted to first place.
This bittersweet outcome maintained the winner’s trophy within the team, although it has impacted their points in the Constructors Standings severely.
Wolff’s reaction was emotional, reflecting on the personal impact such a setback has on his young driver.”
That’s a massive blow to a driver who had childhood dreams to win these races.
That is probably taken away, but it’s going to get better,” Wolff promised the Briton.
FIA Statement For Disqualification The Stewards heard from the team representative of Car 63 (George Russell), the FIA Technical Delegate, the FIA Single Seater Director and the FIA Single Seater Technical Director.
Car 63 was weighed on the FIA inside and outside scales with both scales showing the same result of 796.5 kg.
During the hearing the team representative confirmed that the measurement is correct and that all required procedures were performed correctly.
The team also acknowledged that there were no mitigating circumstances and that it was a genuine error by the team.
The Stewards determine that Article 4.1 of the FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations has been breached and therefore the standard penalty for such an infringement needs to be applied.
