Mercedes F1 star IGNORES FIA decision ahead of Dutch GP

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Dutch Grand Prix

Mercedes F1 star IGNORES FIA decision ahead of Dutch GP

George Russell was disqualified from the Belgian Grand Prix

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 23 August 2024 05:00

George Russell has said that he will disregard his official Belgian Grand Prix verdict heading into the future, instead suggesting he will celebrate the victory.

Russell claimed a stunning on-track victory at Spa, beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton over the line in a fantastic day for Mercedes.

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However, Russell was later disqualified as his car was found to be underweight, leaving a bitter-sweet feeling for Mercedes who were still celebrating victory with Hamilton, but had seen their first one-two since 2022 chalked off.

Hamilton reiterated those thoughts in a social media post, suggesting that Russell deserved the win, and that his 105th career victory felt bitter-sweet.

George Russell thought he had won the Belgian GP

George Russell was disqualified, handing victory to Lewis Hamilton

Russell disqualification

Russell drove brilliantly, and was commended from all corners despite the disqualification, which appeared to be through no fault of his own.

Former F1 boss Eddie Jordan suggested that Mercedes should still pay Russell his win bonus for what would have been his third grand prix victory.

Now, Russell has said that he will always class his Spa performance as a win, suggesting a total disregard of the FIA ruling that snatched his brilliant victory away from him.

"Nobody can take that feeling away from me, from crossing the line, celebrating with my team, standing on the podium," he told media ahead of the Dutch GP.

"I think if I was in the championship fight this year it would have been a much bigger blow to us those 25 points, but this season unfortunately we’re not quite there.

"That race, I lost 25 points, but in my mind, that is still a win," he continued.

"I’ve kept my helmet and it’s going to be on my bedside table with my other two victories. Those celebrations I had with the team in that moment, straight after, were some of the best feelings of my career. So I’ll only take positives from what happened."

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes George Russell Belgian Grand Prix Eddie Jordan Dutch GP