George Russell was denied his third Formula 1 victory after being disqualified from the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix after driving a car that was 1.5kg underweight.
Russell became the sixth driver in F1 history to lose a race win through disqualification, after having an underweight car at the Belgian GP.
The Mercedes driver took a sensational win from sixth on the grid, as Russell opted for a risky one-stop strategy while the others made two pit stops at Spa-Francorchamps.
Russell crossed the line just 0.526 seconds ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, with third-placed Oscar Piastri 1.173 seconds adrift of the 26-year-old, but everything changed around an hour and 10 minutes after the chequered flag.
The #63 Mercedes was 1.5kg under the minimum weight of 798kg required by Article 4.1 of the F1 technical regulations after being emptied of fuel post-race.
Russell called it “heartbreaking”, while Hamilton took his 105th Formula 1 win. Who else has been deprived of a victory due to a disqualification in F1 history?
James Hunt – disqualified for failing to complete a lap after the red flag
Official Winner of the 1976 British Grand Prix: Niki Lauda, Ferrari
James Hunt celebrates victory on the podium. He would later be disqualified from the results.
Photo by: Motorsport Images
James Hunt’s first disqualification of the 1976 F1 season came in the fourth round at Jarama, when he won with a time of 30.97s, but initially lost the win because his McLaren was 1.5cm too wide. Niki Lauda was declared the winner, but McLaren appealed the decision and two months later Hunt’s win was reinstated because the difference was so small.
About two weeks later, however, Hunt received another disqualification, this time permanently, with the victory at Brands Hatch awarded to Lauda. This came after a serious accident at the first corner, in which Hunt and several others collided with a spinning Clay Regazzoni who had just attempted to pass Lauda for the lead on the opening lap.
The race was then suspended and Hunt brought his damaged car back to the pits, but was quickly disqualified because he used the escape route on the Cooper Straight, meaning he was not on the circuit when the red flag was waved and the stewards said drivers must have completed the full lap.
But the decision was overturned for fear of crowd trouble and Hunt won his home race. This prompted Ferrari, Tyrrell and the Fittipaldi team to protest his inclusion and two months later Hunt was disqualified from the British GP, handing victory to Lauda, although the Briton eventually won that year’s world championship.
Nelson Piquet – disqualified from the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix for having an underweight car
Official winner of the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix: Alain Prost, Renault
Nelson Piquet. Brabham BT49D-Ford Cosworth rests on Keke Rosberg Williams FW07C-Ford Cosworth and Alain Prost, Renault RE30B on the podium
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Nelson Piquet became the first driver to be deprived of a race win due to an underweight car, after initially winning the 1982 Brazilian GP in Rio de Janeiro. It is known as one of the most grueling races in F1 history, as several drivers suffered in the high temperatures, including Riccardo Patrese who retired due to heat exhaustion.
Piquet was also struggling, often resting his head on one hand, but the Brazilian had too much on his plate to retire, as he was battling with Gilles Villeneuve and Keke Rosberg for the lead. Piquet prevailed, as Villeneuve’s spin on lap 29 gave him the lead, while Rosberg retired and settled for second.
The Brabham driver then collapsed on the podium, but it was all in vain as both he and Rosberg were disqualified after the race for having an underweight car. The problem was that the ballast water tank, designed to cool the brakes, was gradually emptied over the course of a grand prix and then refilled to pass post-race scrutineering, but both teams were caught doing so.
The result was that Renault’s Alain Prost won the 1982 Brazilian GP, while ballast tanks were finally banned seven months later.
Alain Prost – disqualified from the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix for having an underweight car
Official winner of the 1985 San Marino Grand Prix: Elio de Angelis, Lotus
Alain Prost, McLaren MP4-2B TAG.
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Although Prost benefited from disqualifications at the 1982 Brazilian GP, three years later he was stripped of victory for having an underweight car, this time at Imola.
The 1985 San Marino GP was dominated by numerous drivers running low on fuel: Nigel Mansell, Stefan Johansson, Ayrton Senna, Piquet and Martin Brundle all stopped in the closing laps due to the strict 220-litre fuel limit.
Prost even ran out of fuel on the re-entry lap, and his engineer at the time, Tim Wright, told Autosport that the McLaren had been designed to be as light as possible, but the team had not accounted for any “fluid leaks”.
Thus, Prost’s MP4/2B was registered 2kg under the minimum weight of 580kg, resulting in a post-race disqualification. Victory went to Lotus’s Elio de Angelis, who took his second and final Grand Prix victory despite never leading a lap, with three other drivers leading at some point in the final five laps.
Ayrton Senna – disqualified from the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix for illegally rejoining the track, encouraged by the stewards
Official winner of the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix: Alessandro Nannini, Benetton
Alain Prost, McLaren, Ayrton Senna, McLaren
Photo by: Sutton Images
Senna probably has the most controversial disqualification in F1 history, as he lost the victory in the 1989 Japanese GP after rejoining the track illegally following a push start by the stewards, resulting in Prost clinching his third world championship that day.
The McLaren rivals engaged in a long battle for the lead until the collision on lap 47, when Prost turned into the Suzuka chicane just as Senna moved up the inside, forcing both off the track.
Although Prost immediately got out of his car, Senna tried to get going again, knowing that otherwise his title hopes would be over. So the reigning world champion asked the stewards to push his McLaren down the escape road, allowing Senna to continue and ultimately win the race after overtaking the new leader Alessandro Nannini.
But Nannini was awarded the victory after the race, while Senna received a disqualification for taking outside help and missing the chicane during the collision.
Senna believed he was disqualified because FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre wanted Frenchman Prost to win the title. McLaren later appealed unsuccessfully, and the team was also fined $100,000, while Senna was given a six-month suspension.
Michael Schumacher – disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for illegal pad wear on his car
Official winner of the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix: Damon Hill, Williams
Damon Hill, Williams, won the 1994 Belgian GP after Michael Schumacher, Benetton, was disqualified
Photo by: Sutton Images
Michael Schumacher was the last F1 driver before Russell to be disqualified after winning a race, as he was denied victory at the Belgian GP due to a worn out paddock.
The then Benetton driver delivered a dominant performance to initially win by 13 seconds, but post-race technical inspections revealed that Schumacher’s skids had worn by more than 1mm, leading to his disqualification. The skid block is a wooden board placed under the car, which increases the ride height and reduces the benefits of ground effect, having been introduced only two races earlier in Germany.
This handed victory to Damon Hill, who reduced his championship deficit to Schumacher to 21 points with five grands prix to go, but the German still took his first title of the year.
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