"Every stint I had tires left but the team pulled me in": Lewis Hamilton hints Mercedes strategy compromised his F1 Belgian GP result

Lewis Hamilton has spoken about the difference in strategies that assisted his teammate George Russell to win the 2024 F1 Belgian Grand Prix. He also mentioned that his strategy option cost him a race win.

Mercedes ended the Belgian GP at a high with a 1–2 finish. Russell, who started the race in P6, won with a lead of less than a second over his teammate. This was primarily because he put himself up on a single-stop strategy while all the other drivers went for two stops. Although his hard compound tires were at the end of their lives by the final laps, Russell had built enough of a lead to win the race.

Hamilton had gotten very close, but eventually fell short. The two were under less than a second's gap in the final few laps, and the 39-year-old tried to push hard for the win. However, a small lock-up on turn 1 on the final lap increased the gap.

Talking to Guenther Steiner about the strategy post-race, Hamilton mentioned that Russell had done "a great job" preserving his tires and that his own strategy had put him at a loss.

“I was trying to get close obviously but George did a great job on going long on the tyres. Every stint I had tyres left but the team pulled me in so… Unfortunate but, it is one of those days,” he said.

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Lewis Hamilton crowned as race winner after George Russell's late disqualification from the Belgian GP

Following the Belgian Grand Prix, George Russell's W15 was ruled to be underweight, and he was disqualified from the competition, handing the race victory to Lewis Hamilton.

According to the FIA, Russell's car weighed 796.5 kg after the race, which was 1.5 kg less than the minimum required weight according to the regulations. As a result, he was disqualified from the race.

A major reason for this could be the fact that he was on a one-stop strategy, which might have made him nurse the tires. By the end, there wasn't much gap between the teammates, meaning he pushed the hard compound to the end of its life, using more fuel.

While George Russell's disqualification impacts the team's and his personal standings, Mercedes' overall win tally remains unchanged. Lewis Hamilton's victory elevates his season win count to two.