Famous car racer George Russell is facing serious disappointment after his apparent victory in the recent Belgian Grand Prix turned out to be illusory.
On July 28 Russell’s car barely passed the finish line ahead of driver Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes. Russell expressed joy at the podium over his victory. But just hours later, race officials took his title away.
It turns out that his car was a mere 1.5 kilograms too light under the qualifying rules. When the car was first weighed, the meter read 798 kilograms. But race officials later discovered that the car had just enough fuel in it to affect the weight. After draining out the gasoline and reweighing the car, the final number was 796.5 kilograms.
The racer went from the elation of victory to the despair of defeat all in one day, and he told fans about it on social media. In a post, Russell wrote that it was “heartbreaking” to have his car come in just 1.5 kilos too light causing him to be disqualified. Still, he said, he takes “pride” in being the first across the finish line, and he promised fans “more to come.”
His competitor, Lewis Hamilton, was promoted to P1 after Russell’s place was stripped. Hamilton said he had “mixed feelings” about the day. He was happy to win of course, he said, but he felt bad for Russell and for the team.
Hamilton said the team did better than they anticipated; they had not foreseen that they would take the front spot or the pace they maintained. He said “it’s great” to see what progress the team has made.
In a statement about the incident, the race stewards said the unfortunate outcome was correct, confirming that a weight of 796.5 kilograms registered on both indoor and outdoor scales. The calibration of those scales was “witnessed and confirmed” by a representative from the competition.
Perhaps there is a bit of hope for Russell, though. The stewards’ statement said competitors have the right to appeal these decisions. There is no work on whether Russell will do so.
