2024 F1 Belgian GP: Top 5 Conclusions

The 2024 F1 Belgian GP race weekend can now be put to bed as Lewis Hamilton celebrates his second race win of the season. The Mercedes driver was pipped to the chequered flag by teammate George Russell, who opted for an alternative strategy.

Unfortunately for George, his Mercedes was 1.5kg underweight, and that led to a disqualification. In P2, we had Oscar Piastri, as the Australian picked up another strong result, and Charles Leclerc finished in P3. As F1 heads into its summer break, what did we learn from the F1 Belgian GP? Let's take a look.

---

2024 F1 Belgian GP: Key Takeaways

#1 Track position was the king

If Max Verstappen had started the race in pole position, there is a big chance he would have won. Two things played a key role in him not winning. The first was the fact that the performance differential was not too big between teams. The second was the fact that the DRS zone was shorter this time around.

Whether that was a good thing or not is secondary, as the more important part of the equation is that it prevented him from making his way through the field. As we saw with George Russell towards the end as well, for the F1 Belgian GP, track position was king.

---

#2 Ferrari continues to be an operational disaster

Charles Leclerc secured the podium at the F1 Belgian GP, and this was all down to the driver and not the car or the team. At the first stop, he was undercut, and the team took too long to respond.

The second stop was a triggered undercut, but then it was a slow change of tires. Then came the final whammy, where Leclerc was catching Hamilton as the Mercedes driver was stuck behind Carlos Sainz, but instead of using the Spaniard to help Leclerc close the gap, the team moved Sainz out of Hamilton's way and pitted him.

Ferrari is giving zero indication of the fact that this team will be the next force in F1 and that should worry Lewis Hamilton.

---

#3 Mercedes is getting closer to the top

With Red Bull stuck in traffic, Mercedes was the fastest car at the F1 Belgian GP. Even though the gap was not too big between the teams, it was still there. The ease with which he took over from Charles Leclerc at the front and then just managed the pace was the perfect example.

Mercedes is almost there now and as close to the front as it could get. All of this is certainly great news for the team and Toto Wolff himself.

---

#4 Sergio Perez just completed his last race with Red Bull

Starting the race in P2 and finishing in P8 is just the final nail in the coffin for Sergio Perez. He had no pace for some reason and just fell down the grid one place after the other. In the end, he finished in P8, the lowest of the top 4 teams. This might be the end of Sergio Perez at Red Bull.

To make things worse, even Daniel Ricciardo found a way into points to further rub salt in the wounds, as Perez hopes against hope that something works out for him during the summer break.

---

#5 Alonso and Ocon rise above everyone in the midfield

With no collision or incident as such at the front of the grid, the top 8 slots were just inaccessible for the midfield, and hence, as predicted, the battle was going to be for the final two slots. Just like in qualifying, once again it was Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso who rose to the top in the midfield.

Alonso tried a unique one-stop strategy just like Russell, who coincidentally suffered a disqualification from the F1 Belgian GP as well. Ocon on the other hand had arguably a more conventional two-stopper where he went long and then used fresh rubber to jump other cars. In the end, it was these two drivers who ended the race with points by the time the chequered flag fell and the performance was top-notch from both of them as well.